Bright Lights
by UnfamiliarSky
Summary: Beca Mitchell has been in the movie business a long time. Disenchanted with the life she never wanted and known for the negative reputation she's earned. Chloe Beale is the new breakout darling on the scene. Optimistic and bright with her star just beginning to rise. Will Beca open Chloe's eyes to the gritty reality of their world or will Chloe remind Beca what it's like to dream?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ok this is one of a couple ideas I've been thinking on for a new story. I was going to hold off until I was nearer to the end of Her Words, but motivation hits and we must obey! I hope you guys like it. This first chapter is the groundwork (I guess that's obvious for any first chapter) I've never tried to write anything in this type of setting before so forgive me for doing my best. Let me know what you think and if you're interested in me continuing.**

 **Disclaimer- As always, I sadly do not own Pitch Perfect or any of the recognizable characters involved, if I did I think we all know what changes I'd make to it. I also don't own any companies/products/brands or anything else recognizable mentioned. All I own is the plot, this universe created and the original people who pop up along the way.**

 **Warning – This story will contain alcohol/drug use and some language.**

* * *

 **Ch. 1**

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The dark sky did it's best to blanket the city, but the constant glow of the never-ending New York lights kept it from claiming total victory. Beca sat on the hotel balcony, staring at the expanse of the ever-alive city. Leaning back in the lounge chair, cigarette dangling from her lips and guitar resting lazily across her torso.

She plucked the strings absently at random; not aiming for anything other than the familiar vibration of the notes beneath her fingers. As always, she was wide awake and anywhere but the bed. Not _her_ bed, the hotel's. The brunette didn't know what time it was, closing in on 5am was her was her best guess. It didn't matter, it wasn't like she wouldn't get a lovely announcement when it was time to get up and start the day.

It wasn't like her time, her life, was up to her in anyway.

Once, long ago, she thought it would be by this age. She'd pictured by now she'd be on her own…she'd be happy. But that picture faded until there was barely a blur in her mind. The only time she could see traces of it now were in the moments that followed the drink or the sniff or the swallow.

It was artificial just like everything in her life. She couldn't even call them highs. She didn't get high. It was more like…peace; like she reached a contentment for a few precious moments before it disappeared. Just like that elusive image of a life that wasn't hers.

The brunette's thoughts were interrupted by the sliding glass door being shoved open behind her.

"There you are," the woman's voice declared.

"Here I am," Beca replied without looking at her and continuing to draw the disconnected notes from the guitar.

"It's 5:15."

"Thanks for the update Big Ben," she replied, still not showing any interest in the woman's presence.

"Well, should I assume you woke up to prepare for the day?" she asked the cynical question before crossing her arms.

"You know what they say about assuming," Beca responded, flicking ash from her cigarette onto the balcony floor.

The older woman rolled her eyes at the response and put her hands on her hips.

"You have to be at the junket at 7," she reminded Beca, "I figured it would take you this long to erase your … exploits from last night and get together enough to be made presentable."

Beca didn't acknowledge her words, instead continuing to pluck at random strings with black nailed fingers. Irritated, the woman stomped over to the chair, grabbing the instrument by the neck and pulled it out of Beca's lap.

"What have I told you about this?" she asked rhetorically, "Calloused fingers are not a sought-after quality."

"Yes mother," she answered with a roll of her eyes.

"And I _told_ you a thousand times to knock that off; even in private."

Beca rolled her eyes at her mom. God forbid any of the young bucks she lured in ever equate her to having a 24-year-old daughter. Wouldn't want them trying to do any math and figuring out her actual age underneath all the nips and tucks and peels.

She stood up and took the guitar back while correcting herself.

"Yes _Angela_ ," she remarked as she walked by her and into the room. Her mother – _Angela_ \- following behind and closing the door.

"Good. Now shower and get dressed. The team will be here in half an hour to get you ready. And for God's sake, get that girl out of your bed."

Beca went into the bathroom, speaking out as she disappeared inside, "It's not my bed."

Angela sighed and approached the bed. She took in the disarray of the blanket and sheet around the woman lying on her stomach. With a shake of her head, she shoved her foot against the mattress, jostling the girl awake. The blonde groaned and lifter her head to find the disturbance.

"Morning Starshine," Angela greeted sarcastically, "Time for you to go."

The nameless girl rubbed her face and looked around, presumably for Beca, before sitting up. Angela watched the sheet fall into her lap, revealing an intricate tattoo that started in the center of her chest and wrapped around under both breasts.

"Charming," she sneered in distaste before opening her purse and pulling cash. She counted out an amount and then held her hand out to the woman, "Come on, let's go."

"I ain't no hooker," the woman defended, looking offended by the action.

"Sweetie, I don't care what you are as long as you keep your mouth shut," she informed her, dropping the bills on the bed, "For your discretion."

Angela watched her gather her things and quickly dress; noting that for all her defense she still had no problem gathering the money before leaving. The woman then made short work of putting the room together and hiding evidence of her daughter's activities. When Beca returned from her shower wearing jeans and a black t-shirt, her mother automatically descended upon her.

"You good?" she asked, looking over her face and into her eyes, "Need something to perk up a bit?"

Beca just shrugged in response, trying to pull away from the hands on her cheeks. Angela pulled out an unmarked, orange bottle and tipped a pill into her palm.

"You've got interviews all day, we need you focused," she told her as she gave her the pill and watched her swallow it. Once she did, she spoke again with her hands on her face again, "Remember, you're happy to be here. You're proud of this movie. It was fun to make."

"How innovative," Beca replied, pulling back to get away again, when her mom grabbed her and brought her back.

She looked at her daughter with a scrutinizing gaze before brushing her fingers through her damp hair.

"This is serious, Beca," she began, and the younger brunette knew already what was coming next and sure enough she was right, "You brought us here. You got us out of that nowhere life. You made our dreams come true. Don't you want to protect it?"

Her mother gave the familiar speech. Beca hated hearing it. She hated her mother's use of "us" and "our" as if it were something they sat down and decided on together. She hated that when she did say it, the words were always surrounded by affection and pride that she never displayed any other time. More than anything, Beca hated that she craved it from her; this long held desire for her mother to be like, well, a mother.

But this was the closest she ever got; ever would get. So, with a nod and nothing more, Beca pulled away from her touch again. Fortunately, this time she let her, allowing Beca a moment to feel the chemicals kick in and close her eyes for the split second of peace before it vanished.

Hours later and the young woman was no more enthused about the day than she had been all morning. Sitting in a chair in front of a large mockup of the movie poster. She'd spent her day enduring the rotating cycle of journalists who all swooped in to take their turn in the same seat across from her and ask the same questions all day. She could see the moment they turned on the forced cheer when they saw her sitting back in the chair, showing exactly how thrilled she was to be there.

Photographers. Cameramen. Hair and makeup coordinators. Movie reps and, of course, her mother, were all hovering around while what's-his-name from fished for a soundbite.

In the middle of what she'd been told was the final one of the afternoon, Beca saw her mother gesturing for her to smile. Beca ignored her and cast her eyes back to the young woman from some entertainment channel, she hadn't been paying attention during the introduction.

"Now, this role is pretty intense for someone so young. A lot of what you've done seems like it would be so draining. How do you get to the space you need to relate to these characters? Is there a specific method you use to get there for a scene?"

Beca brushed her hair back from her face before answering.

"I just read the script and say the lines they give me," she answered indifferently and heard the woman chuckle as if she'd told a joke. Beca saw Angela behind the camera glaring at her for the response. With a quiet sigh, she cleared her throat and gave a little more, "Hard to say; it's different for each part, I guess."

"Understandable," the woman replied with the smile Beca had seem all day; any day she had to spend doing this stuff. The smile that was rehearsed and brought out when they realized she wasn't giving them what they hoped for, "Ok, last question. Now there's talk buzzing around that you're signed on to star alongside Chloe Beale for your next project. Can you tell us if that's true?"

Beca, having no clue what her mother ever agreed to on her behalf, looked over to her for confirmation. The woman nodded, giving Beca her answer and she made an effort not to sigh before responding.

"Yeah, that's right."

"I'm sure it'll be great; something we can all look forward to. Chloe's sort of recently blasted onto the scene, I know I'm certainly a fan. What do you think of her work? As someone who's been in this business for a while, any observations? Do you consider yourself a fan?"

"I wouldn't know; I don't want movies."

The answer obviously surprised the peppy woman who had to clear her throat before thanking Beca for her time and plugging the movie's release date for the camera. As soon as she got the call that they were clear, Beca snapped the mic off her shirt and stood up; she pulled out her pack of cigarettes and nodded to the woman before walking away.

Angela huffed and approached the reported once her daughter was gone.

"What the hell was that?" she asked the woman from Entertainment Tonight.

"I know, right?" she responded with a good-natured laugh, "Some people really don't enjoy the interview process and don't hide it well. Don't worry, it's not a big deal, this'll be edited before it airs."

"I'm talking about _you_ ," Angela accused, "Why the hell are you talking about some other actress? Beca's interview is supposed to be about Beca. So, make sure you edit out your stupidity before airing this."

"I was making conversation about something that pertained to her career," the woman replied; defensive about the attack.

The woman shook her head and gathered her things. Internally debating whether or not to speak her mind before deciding: to hell with it.

"You know, I'm beginning to see what Beca is the way she is."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Angela asked sharply.

"I mean, with you running the show, I'd hate my life, too," she remarked. Her attempt to leave it on that note was halted when a tight hand gripped her forearm.

"What did you say to me?"

The reporter's eyes dropped calmly to the hand holding onto her. She was used to people trying to strong arm her.

"Easy, Ms. Mitchell, your daughter already has quite the reputation in the media, you don't want to make it worse, do you?"

Angela let go but refused to let the attitude slide.

"What's your name? I'll be in touch with your supervisors about this."

"It's Catherine Rolan," she answered, "I can spell it for you, I have nothing to be afraid of."

On her way out, Catherine sported Beca Mitchell hovering just inside the building's main door, smoking a cigarette even though she was certain it wasn't allowed in the building. On impulse, she approached the actress.

"Beca?" she got the girl's attention through her sunglasses, "Hey, I'm sorry about what happened upstairs; if you felt like I got off topic."

Beca shrugged.

"Just doing your job," she dismissed, "It's fine."

Catherine nodded, noticing the way Beca kept glancing out the side window at the people hanging around waiting.

"Paparazzi?"

Beca sighed heavily and looked back at her, taking off her sunglasses she spoke.

"Do you like what you do?' she questioned suddenly.

"What?"

"Your job; do you like it?"

Catherine thought about the question for a second before answering.

"I do. Some days more than others, but overall, yes. Very much."

Beca nodded after hearing her answer which inspired the woman to return the question.

"Do you like what you do?"

Beca put her glasses back on and zipped up her leather jacket before answering without emotion, "It's a dream come true."

As soon as she stepped outside, the horde of people waiting rushed her; cameras and voices bombarding her.

X

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X

Across the country, the television was on in the California penthouse while an unamused Aubrey Posen stood in the center of the living room watching TMZ transition to footage of a New York sidewalk. Her eyes narrowed as the voices behind the cameras threw question after question at the woman and her response was to give them a middle finger for their trouble.

Of course, as Aubrey predicted, the action only spurred them on even more.

"Chloe! Are you almost ready? The car is going to be here soon!" she called form the other room and checked her watch.

"Coming!" she heard back and Chloe appeared a few seconds later, putting in her last earring and noticing what was on the television, "Why do you watch this stuff?"

"I have to keep an eye out to make sure there aren't any ridiculous stories on you I have to fix. It's my job, after all."

"And you're very good at it," the redhead complimented and bumped her shoulder into her best friend.

"Well, you definitely make my job easier than _some_ people would," she stated with a nod towards the screen.

Chloe chuckled and looked at the tv where Beca Mitchell's voice came through with a two-word response, the first word censored with a loud beep to cover it up. Aubrey scoffed at the girl's behavior.

"I can't believe you're actually wanting to work with her," Aubrey shook her head.

"Come on, Aubrey, it's a good opportunity. You have to admit she's talented. Maybe I can learn from her."

"Picking up habits from Beca Mitchell will definitely make my job more interesting if that's what you're hoping for," she mused, "Trust me, I hear all the talk that goes around about her. The last thing your career needs is any of her influence."

"Oh, come on, I'm sure she isn't that bad. She probably a good person in reality."

As soon as she speculated this, Beca's voice came again from the tv.

' _Back the [BEEP]_ _OFF!"_ followed by a hard shove to the TMZ camera before the program moved on to another clip.

Aubrey looked at her friend and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, she's a peach."

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 **Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Concerns?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello all! Wow the response to this was so much better than I could have anticipated. Thank you all so much! *Hugs* I hope I didn't leave you waiting too long.**

 **A special, enormous thank you and shout out to hello-restless-us who allows me to ramble about the most mundane things and pushed me to keep this project going! This one's for you!**

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 **Ch 2**

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Premiere night.

Beca hated premiers almost as much as she hated doing press. Occasionally, she could skip out on them but that was only if Angela had her scheduled to go to wherever the hell her next obligation was. However, like tonight, she was often dragged and forced to be put on display for a sea of flashing lights and nameless voices shouting directions at her.

 _Over here! Turn this way! Smile Beca! Who are you wearing? Beca! Beca! Beca!_

When she was younger, when she still thought her mom was looking out for her each time she told her it was a dream come true, Beca would do whatever they said. She would put on the biggest smile she could manage and make herself dizzy trying to please everyone.

Sometimes she missed the naivety of those days. Now she knew better.

So, she kept her smiles from them; they didn't deserve them.

"Beca," her mother's voice brought her back to the present in the car. When she looked at the woman, she saw her focused on her phone screen as she spoke to her, "We're almost there. Let's remember to show how happy you are to be there this time."

"Of course," Beca replied.

"Good," she responded, "And none of this getting out on the wrong side of the car again. You need to cut that out. Your entrance should be a big moment, not pictures of you coming around the car like a confused moron."

"Wouldn't want that," she answered absently as the car pulled to a stop in front of the venue.

The door was opened and Angela accepted the hand of the valet to step out. Once she saw her mother half way out of the car, Beca opened her own door.

"Beca!" Angela hissed in annoyance, but her daughter ignored the protest and exited out onto the street instead.

As soon as she did, she heard an eruption of excited voices that had nothing to do with the waiting vultures aligned the red carpet. She looked over to the source of the noise and saw the excitable crowd behind the guard rail across the street. Fans.

Each time she came to one of these spectacles and saw them, a part of her wanted to rush across the street to them. She wanted to say she appreciated them but they were wasting their time idolizing her and this life. She wanted to say thank you, but she was no one special and what she did was not special.

She wanted to, but she never did.

Instead she gave them the 'rock on' hand gesture and stuck out her tongue, hearing an increase in the cheer when she did, and rounded the car to get this over with. She did the usual; stopping here and there for pictures, keeping the emotionless look on her fact that was pretty much a Beca Mitchell trademark for years.

After she finished that, her mother brought her over towards an interviewer with a tight hand on her forearm, still with the perfected fake smile plastered on her face the whole time.

"Would it kill you to wear a dress?" Beca didn't respond; she'd been surprised the woman hadn't said so during the ride over. She wouldn't indulge her with a reply; she refused. She liked her black suit. She compromised enough of herself for this world, she'd wear the damn suits if she wanted.

She answered the reporter's usual premier carpet questions with, what by now had to be, her expected disinterest. After a few questions, she heard a new wave of rushed voiced from down the way and saw the reason being the arrival of the 'leading man' Theo Burnett.

He seemed like a nice enough guy, though she didn't spend go out of her way to spend time with him outside of their scenes, and she certainly didn't enjoy having to kiss him for the movie. Regardless, his appearance gave her an out. In the middle of a new question, Beca interrupted the reporter.

"There you go, Theo's here," she told the reporter and gladly walked away without waiting for a response.

She entered the theatre, feeling her mother's critical eyes on her while she did. As usual, once inside, Beca continued through the building and out the back to the waiting car. She didn't bother waiting for Angela, she knew the woman preferred to watch the films, if for no other reason than to critique Beca for the final project.

As always, she sat back and allowed the driver to just cruise around for a couple hours until it was time for the after party, where she would make another appearance. She sighed heavily and helped herself to the small bar in the back of the luxury car. A few drinks beforehand would get her in the mood for the party.

X

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X

The music soared from the speakers, giving a soundtrack to the background of the after party. The room filled with all manner of celebrity from the premier as well as any of them that had just wanted to come by or random people that were able to get in to rub elbows.

Beca ignored them all and chose to spend her time by the DJ booth; drink in hand, number five or six since she'd arrived. She had stopped counting. Her eyes closed as she sat on the step beside the speaker and leaning back against the booth. She allowed her ears to be assaulted and the vibrations to rumble through her body. This was the only reason she actually came to these things. Allowing herself to be immersed in the music while the alcohol and whatever pills she'd gotten a few minutes ago to take her away.

At the bar, Aubrey noticed Chloe hadn't even realized their drinks had come. The blonde nudged her best client and best friend with her elbow to get her attention.

"Hey," Aubrey spoke, sliding Chloe's glass to her, "Here you go."

"Thank you," Chloe took a sip, before refocusing on her friend, "Did you like the movie?"

The blonde nodded as she drank.

"I did. It was a little more intense for my taste, but it came together nicely. Theo did a great job."

Chloe looked back over her shoulder once more, before running her finger around the lip of her glass.

"And Beca," she cleared her throat, "She was really good too, don't you think?"

Aubrey sense the tone the redhead used and sat up straighter on the stool to look over at the space the girl kept staring at. She had assumed she'd just been watching the DJ work, but now saw it might not have been the case at all.

She sighed.

"Jeez, Chloe."

"What?" she asked innocently.

"You've been staring at her this whole time," she criticized, "Do not even think about it."

"I'm just a fan, Aubrey," she defended, "I'm saying she did a good job. You have to admit she's talented, no matter what you think of her personally."

Aubrey took another drink.

"Yes, ok," she agreed, "Yes, she can act. But I'm telling, keep your distance from Beca Mitchell. Your career doesn't need it, and _you_ definitely don't need it."

"Good thing we're working together next month then, isn't it?" Chloe remarked with a wink, "Guess I'll take that one up with my agent, huh?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes, "You were signed on first."

Chloe chuckled and the two were silent for a moment, taking in the party around them. Chloe waved at one of the women she'd worked with that year and Aubrey spoke up.

"Oh, Emily's here. Sorry I've got to talk to her real fast. I'll be back."

Chloe raised her glass in acknowledgement, allowing Aubrey to step away and talk to one of her other clients. Once the blonde was out of sight, Chloe looked back over to where Beca still sat in front of the booth.

She bit her lip in thought then called over the bartender and asked for a bottle like the one she saw the brunette had just placed on the ground beside her. When the cold bottle was placed in front of her, she debated for another moment before grabbing it as well as her own drink and walking over.

She stood in front of the seat young woman. With her presence not being noticed yet, Chloe had yet another opportunity to second guess herself.

As much as she shut Aubrey down when she brought it up, Beca _did_ have quite the reputation. She came off as someone who was extremely antisocial who couldn't be bothered with any sort of exchange. Unless, of course, the rumors were to be believed. She wasn't blind to the random stories that popped up occasionally. Stories that were always told by "unnamed sources"; stories of her leaving a bar or a club with various women. Not to mention the buzz about her other habits. Apparently drinking wasn't Beca Mitchell's only vice.

But rumors were rumors. Unfortunately, in the business they were in, no one was safe from them. Even Chloe, in her short time in the spotlight, had had a few not so positive ones pop up about her. Nothing too terrible, mostly rumors on who she was dating and such. But just as she wished people did for her, she didn't give the stories any credit until she found out of herself.

So, she swallowed the uncertainty and tried to speak loud enough to be heard over the music playing right next to them.

"Hi."

A moment passed with no response. Assuming she must not have been heard, Chloe took a step closer and tried again with more volume.

"Hi!"

Beca heard a voice over the music. Normally she'd ignore it until they got the message and left her alone to continue lounging in her little bubble. However, something made her open her eyes this time.

When she did, she was greeted by the sight of a beautiful woman standing above her. She was in a black form fitting dress that hugged every inch perfectly. Her red hair was half back with the rest falling around her shoulders. To Beca, it looked as though she had a radiant light around her; though that very well could've been the drugs in her system.

"Wow," she breathed to herself. She'd been approached by all number of women, and happily indulged, she was certain it had never been one so breathtaking.

Chloe smiled brightly upon seeing she now had her attention.

"I don't want to bother you- "

"What?" Beca shouted, unable to hear what the other girl was saying.

She rose to her feet and stepped closer to Chloe to hear her.

"I saw you sitting here and wanted to say hi."

"Hi," Beca replied.

Chloe went to talk again, pausing when the song changed to one with an even heavier beat. She looked around and saw an empty room towards the back.

"You want to step over there where it's quieter?"

Beca poked her tongue out to wet her lips and nodded. She led the woman towards the back and the two stepped into the private room. Beca closed the door, muffling out the sounds of the party.

"That's better," Beca remarked and wiped a hand over her forehead to get her bearings. She looked back at the redhead, "Loud out there."

"Yeah, it quite the party," Chloe commented, her eyes then went down to the drinks still in her hand, "Here, I noticed what you were drinking."

"Thanks," Beca accepted the chilled bottle and took a large draw, "Hi."

Chloe smiled again, "Hi," she returned, "I'm sorry I bothered you. I just saw you and wanted to tell you how great you were in the movie."

"Oh," Beca thought she'd just come to the party, but apparently she'd been at the premier as well, "Uh thanks. You liked it, then."

"Totes! I don't want to seem like a fangirl, but I am. A-A fan, I mean."

"Cool," Beca replied and took a step closer.

"Yeah, I mean, you probably get told all the time how talented you are, but," Chloe gushed, "You're one of my favorites. Like an inspiration."

Beca smirked, taking another drink before setting her bottle down and taking Chloe's glass from her hands to do the same with hers.

"I have other talents, you know," she told her, "I mean, I'm pretty skilled, if I do say so."

"Oh, I bet! What do you do?" Chloe asked excited that Beca seemed to be indulging her with conversation, "I like to sing, myself."

"Yeah?" Beca questioned, taking yet another step closer; closing the space between them to just a few inches.

"Um, yeah," Chloe spoke as her nerves rattled. Beca's proximity was throwing her off, "I'm not, I'm not professional or trained or anything. Just," she cleared her throat, "Just something I enjoy."

"Mm," the brunette voiced, "I'd love to hear it."

"Really?"

"Oh yes," she let her eyes trail Chloe's figure, "In fact, give me a few minutes and I'll bet you'll be singing the roof off this place."

Chloe's brow furrowed, "What?"

Beca looked at her lips for a heartbeat before moving in. Just as she was close enough to feel Chloe's warm breath against her own lips, the redhead pulled back.

"What are you doing?" she questioned in surprise.

Beca opened her eyes and wrinkled her own brows in confusion.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Did you want to go on the couch?"

Chloe narrowed her eyes, "Are you…Did you think I came back here to-to hook up with you?"

Now Beca stepped back, suddenly unsure of what was happening.

"Well…I mean…pretty girl buys me a drink, invites me to the private room…"

"To talk," Chloe snapped, "I'm a fan, like I said. I wanted to-to talk to you. You know, pick your brain; maybe get some insight about- "

"Oh no. No!" Beca interrupted; sounding angry, "No, what do you want? You want me to, what, help you find a foot in the door? Give you the Hollywood secret to breaking into the business? Forget it."

"Excuse me?" she asked feeling extremely offended, "I don't your help to break in to anything."

"Good!" Beca replied about to leave, halting and running a hand through her hair before looking back at Chloe, "Just in case, here's the big about Hollywood; stay away! It's a, it's a shit-pile wrapped in a shiny package to get pretty, hopeful people like you sucked in. Then once they have their greedy little hooks in you they start taking. They take and take and take; pieces and chunks of you over and over until there's nothing left!"

The venomous passion in her words had Chloe step back as if she'd been slapped. She stared at Beca with wide eyes for a moment as the other girl breathed heavily after the angry rant.

"What happened to you?" she asked quietly.

Beca shook her head. She hadn't meant to explode like that.

Her head was muddled. The alcohol and pills combined with the misunderstanding of the situation had her all mixed up. One moment she thought she was going to have sex with a gorgeous, willing woman and now she had blurted out more than she ever would to anyone; let alone a random girl in a club.

She shook her head.

"I've got to go."

"Wait – "

Beca ignored her and left the room, making sure to grab her drink on her way out.

Chloe remained in the room staring at the door and wondering what the just hell happened.

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 **A/N: Our first Bechloe interaction! That could've gone better huh? Please let me know what you guys think! For those who caught it: Yes, I borrowed Beca's 'getting out of the car on the wrong side' thing from Kendrick's book! I love the little rebellion of it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi all! Sorry for the little delay for this, honestly this chapter was a bit of a block for me. But I pushed through because this is a building block chapter. I hope you like it!**

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 **Ch 3**

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Chloe couldn't shake the strange interaction she'd had with Beca Mitchell.

Part of her was upset, even offended, that the woman assumed Chloe had approached her to have a quickie in the backroom of the club. However there was a larger part that was completely focused just on what had happened after.

There was something in her voice, in her eyes, as she seemed to explode on Chloe. The words spewing quickly like a desperate warning she couldn't control. Of course Chloe wasn't completely ignorant to the uglier side of the business. She knew it existed; thankfully she'd never had any first-hand experience with it other than some rude comments she'd made the mistake of reading from some people online. She credited that to being surrounded by good people. People who she believed truly had her best interests in mind and not just their banking account.

Thank God for Aubrey.

Once her parents realized and accepted this was truly something she wanted to pursue, the first thing they'd done was enlist a lawyer to make sure no one who offered her anything would be taking advantage.

A move which had already helped her avoid a few contracts that would have done just that while they searched for someone to take her on and represent her. When she'd met Aubrey, all ambition to prove herself and no nonsense in her honesty, Chloe knew without needing to be told that she was the one for the job. It worked out perfectly that the two were close in age and easily able to become best friends.

She trusted Aubrey with protecting her dream and her life.

Maybe Beca hadn't been lucky enough to have an Aubrey of her own.

When she got home that night, and really every night since, Chloe had been doing research of sorts. She didn't dare let Aubrey know about this sudden passion with reading every article and watching every video online she could find on Beca Mitchell. She'd searched and watched so many that her YouTube suggestion page was filled with clips of interviews and footage of the girl.

She watched her way through them with whatever free time she had, moving backwards through Beca's career and watching her get younger and younger. It was like travelling through time as she saw her go from a seemingly detached young woman to a fresh-faced child.

Currently Chloe was lying in her hotel bed with her phone playing an interview from one of her earliest moments. Even though the quality of the video wasn't as good as others, she could still see the spark in the little girl's eyes as she answered questions and told stories of her experiences.

She couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her mouth as she watched little Beca in her yellow dress. It made her wonder if she could go back through the videos in sequence and find the exact moment that spark vanished from her eyes; when the bright spark began to dull.

Her eyes scanned the little girl's arms as she gestured in the midst of her story, imagining the ink that would appear there was time went on. Suddenly she paused the video going back a few seconds to see the moment again.

Beca was swinging her feet back and forth, like children did when their feet don't reach the floor, but when something off-camera caught her eye she stopped and sat up straighter. Chloe figured someone on set was policing her and had told her to stop. It made Chloe's smile drop a bit wondering why someone would be so keen to cut down a child's excitement like that.

She realized that the amount of pressure she felt as a grown woman in the industry had to have been smothering to a child in the same position.

Against her will, she suddenly remembered an old link she'd found on one of the higher pages of her internet search. A link that took her to an outdated site with nothing but a large ticker that now read all zeroes, above it in bold, red letters the words: _BECA MITCHELL IS 18 IN_ …

She shook her head at the proof of how awful people could be. It disgusted her to the point of near nausea.

When her current video finished, Chloe put her phone on the charger and lay back with a sigh. The clock read 2 a.m. and she had to be up early.

She had her first table read for the movie in the morning. Meaning she would be seeing Beca for the first time since that night in the club. She hoped it would go better than that meeting had; otherwise the next few months were going to be pretty uncomfortable.

X

* * *

X

Beca woke with a start as the door to her room was loudly pushed open. The amount of whiskey she'd consumed the night before was better for letting her actually get to sleep than any other sleep-aid she'd tried. Of course the side effects upon waking were more unpleasant, though not unfamiliar.

She lifted her head and squinted against the already present headache and saw Angela at the foot of the bed, looking about as impressed as she usually was when she woke her.

"Ugh," she groaned and dropped her head back down, draping her arm over her eyes.

"Good morning to you too, Sunshine," her mother responded cynically, her arms finding an easy home on her hips, "Get up."

Beca groaned again and let her arm flop back to the bed. But it wasn't the mattress she hit. Her palm slapped against skin and she heard a small squeak come from beside her. She turned to look next to her and saw she wasn't alone in the bed, her hand landing on the back of the woman's exposed thigh. A brunette pushed her face deeper into the pillow and smiled as she spoke.

"Mm, five minutes. I'm still recovering from the last one," her voice was slightly muffled by the pillow, but Angela still heard it and crossed her arms, "But I'm happy to see those rumors are true."

"Just what every mother wants to hear," Angela remarked.

The unexpected voice caused the girl to gasp and spin around, reaching down to gather up the blanket and cover her bare chest.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Better question: Why are you still here?" Angela asked.

"Wha-" the woman – Beca thought her name was…Rachel- looked to her for back-up.

Beca only sighed and rolled out of bed, crossing the room in just her underwear to head to the minibar. Her journey was halted when her mother grabbed her arm and held her in place from behind her.

"What's this?" Angela asked, critiquing the mostly white bandage that covered her from the roll of her shoulder and down the blade. Her eyes took in the few specks of blood staining through it. Angela didn't wait for an answer and instead pulled at the tape and peeled it back to see what she had done to herself. As soon as she got a peek of it, she angrily ripped the rest off, revealing the new tattoo now adorning the once clean skin.

"Hey," she hissed, "Easy still tender."

"Another one?" Angela judged, not hiding her upset.

Beca ignored her and turned her body to get a look at the healing spot in the mirror. Pleased with what she saw, she continued to the small fridge. Her mother continued to glare at her as she pulled out one of the remaining bottles. Beca caught the look and rolled her eyes.

"Hair of the dog," she shrugged and downed the small container in one go.

"Uh, Beca?" Rachel – yeah it was Rachel, she was pretty sure – questioned, her eyes going back and forth between the women, still clutching the blanket.

Beca rubbed her eyes and sighed.

"I got to get dressed," she said simply, "Stay or go, whatever you want."

Rachel grabbed her clothes and dressed quickly, not bothering to mask her irritation as she tugged harder than necessary to dress as she stared daggers at Beca.

"Well, looks like the sex isn't the only rumor that's true about you."

"Yeah, guess you can believe what you read sometimes," Beca answered.

Angela had already pulled out the usual cash for silence. She moved to hand it over, preparing her usual speech about not saying a word, but was met with a scoff; the money fluttering to the floor after it was slapped from her hand.

"Go to hell," she told her and then looked at Beca, "Both of you."

Beca grabbed another bottle from the fridge as she heard the door slam. Looking down at the bottle she muttered to herself.

"Already there."

X

* * *

X

Beca arrived for the table read in her favorite gray zip hoodie and black beanie with big white letters reading 'No' stitched on the front; glad it was one of the few professional occasions she wasn't expected wear some ridiculous designer outfit. Nobody dressed up for a read through, so Angela didn't get on her case about it.

She grabbed a coffee from the craft table as she walked in, looking for the caffeine burst to pull her through, at least until this was over and she could use an alternative method. She took her seat, marked by her character's name card. A detail Angela had reminded her of just before she left her in the car to go do whatever the hell her mother did when she wasn't up Beca's ass.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back to wait for everyone else to take their seats so they could start. It was only a minute later that her eyes opened back up when the person who sat down beside her spoke.

"Hello again."

She turned and saw a beautiful, fresh-faced redhead.

"Uh, hi," she returned. Beca had never seen eyes so blue… or had she? Based on the greeting she received, it was obvious they'd met before and Beca searched her brain for the event. She was sure she would've remembered those eyes. Yet, nothing was coming to her, "Sorry, have we…"

Chloe was sure her surprise was obvious on her face. It never occurred to her, with how obsessed she felt after that night, that Beca would've forgotten. Then again, it had been clear Beca wasn't exactly sober then. Chloe did her best to recover her composure and continue what she hoped would be a better conversation than their first.

"Yeah, um, I guess there was a lot going on, but yeah," she cleared her throat, carefully selecting how much of the memory she would share since Beca didn't come across too great in it, "About a month ago, at the after party for the _Shadows_ premier."

She left it at that, allowing her the opportunity to, hopefully, remember the details on her own.

Beca listened to her words and tried to think back to that night. She didn't remember much of it, no surprise. She had taken a few pills her mother gave her; that combined with the drinks didn't allow for much clarity. She remembered the music and… vaguely she recalled an exchange with a woman she thought for sure had been aiming for the usual hookup.

But that hadn't happened; in fact Beca was pretty sure she'd ended up yelling at her instead. Other than that she didn't…Oh.

"Oh," she said slowly as realization dawned on her. She awkwardly drummed her fingers against her thigh and looked at Chloe, "Well, this is kind of awkward, huh?"

Chloe gave her an understanding smile, "A little."

"I'm-I'm sorry about that, really," she tried to apologize, "I shouldn't have, you know, any of it."

"It's ok," Chloe answered, "Everyone has a bad night now and then."

She used the excuse to dismiss Beca's apology, but she got the feeling that Beca's bad nights were a little more frequent than most. She offered her a bright smile.

"Let's try again," she suggested and held out her hand, "Hi, I'm Chloe Beale."

Beca felt a grin appear on her face despite herself. She couldn't help it.

"Beca Mitchell."

She took Chloe's hand in hers and shook it up and down a few times. She couldn't help but notice how warm and soft it was in her own. She wondered if she'd felt this stir in her stomach a month ago. Beca honestly couldn't imagine seeing that smile for the first time and not being struck by it. She was surrounded by false ones all the time, seeing the warmth and sincerity of Chloe's was like breathing new air.

"Well, I'm delighted to meet you," Chloe said and added with a chuckle, "properly."

Beca smiled, a real smile this time, "Me too."

After a moment, Chloe seemed to realize they were still holding hands and pulled hers back with slight blush forming on her cheeks.

"I, uh, I have to tell you, I'm a huge fan of yours."

"Oh?" Beca questioned, feeling the strange blossom die down a bit at the statement.

"Totally! I'm super excited to work with you," Chloe gushed with excitement, "I know it will be good for me."

"Yeah, sure."

Chloe's brow crinkled together as Beca's demeanor changed before her eyes and she turned back to the table, flipping open the cover of the script set out in front of her. One minute she seemed to be warming up, even smiling, the next she appeared to be pulling away and shutting down a bit. She leaned towards her and spoke softly.

"Hey, are you-"

"Good morning everyone!" a loud voice spoke to the room, getting everyone's attention and ending all the individual conversations happening around the table, "Welcome to our first read through for _Bulletproof._ This is the first time we've all been together at once, so before we start, I just want to say a few words. First of all, I know I've met some of you, but for those I haven't, I'm Gail McKadden, Abernathy-McKadden professionally, and I'm the writer of our little project here."

Beca heard the table clap for the blonde, but kept her hands where they were. The woman laughed at the applause and waved her hands through the air.

"Oh, stop; thank you. Now, I don't want to lay it on too thick, but this story is," she put her hands over her heart, "my baby, and to see it grow like this is, if you'll forgive the cliché, a dream come true. I'm so thrilled you all want to be a part of it and I just know that my dream is in good hands."

She laughed and wiped a couple fingers under her eyes, the table applauding once more. Gail sat down at the head of the table.

"Let's go around the table and introduce our lovey cast and characters," she nodded to a blond man sitting to her left.

"Hello, I'm Luke Strohm and I'm playing David Hunt."

Chloe recognized him from some of his work in indie films and briefly wondered to herself if the Englishman would be hiding his accent for this part as well. She determined that she'd find out soon enough and went back to paying attention for the rest of the introductions.

Next was a petite woman with light brown hair and a kind smile.

"I'm Laura Alden," she said with a wave, "I'll be Kara."

A dark haired young man was next, "Jesse Swanson, I'm Brett Church."

Beca wasn't paying attention as the more names, some bigger than others, were given around the table. So she didn't notice it was her turn until Chloe tapped her thigh under the table to discreetly bring her back.

"Beca Mitchell. Binx."

Chloe waited a moment, as if giving Beca a chance to say anything else if she wanted. When it was obvious she wasn't going to, Chloe happily took her turn with a bright smile for the table.

"Hi, I'm Chloe Beale and I'm playing Addison Wilde."

A few more members introduced themselves and their character before finally the director spoke; apparently deciding to stand for his introduction.

"Good morning, I am Jonathan Smith and I'll be captaining this voyage. I'm sure we'll all bring out the best in each other."

Once he sat back down, Gail excitedly clapped her hands.

"Wonderful!" she declared, "Now let's get started."

Beca took her chance to ignore her surroundings once again, knowing her first highlighted words weren't for a few pages. She cast her eyes sideways to the girl beside her, watching her listen with rapt attention, pencil already in poised in hand to add her own notes.

She sighed to herself and let herself begin to space out again.

X

X

* * *

 **A/N: In case it helps anyone, in my head Laura is Dominique Provost-Chalkley, but she'll be using her American accent for this story, not her actual British one.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Major thanks to the people who've been chill with how long it takes for me to actually get updates for this ready. Starting to get some development in this one…**

* * *

 **Ch. 4**

Beca entered the hair and makeup trailer for the first day of filming, already looking forward to the end of the day. She stepped aside as the door opened and Dominque exited, giving her a 'Good Morning' greeting as she passed Beca.

It was six a.m. and she was only moving among the living because of the adrenaline provided by a mix of coffee and a pair of pick-me-ups in capsule form from her mother. She was probably somewhere on set, because of course she was. Beca didn't want to know who she was working or trying to work for whatever her next goal was. Beca didn't care about any of that, she just wanted to do her job and leave.

Once inside, she was spotted by the makeup artist she'd met with a few days before who nodded at her and gestured to an area for her to wait. Beca moved over to the specified area, only noticing when she got there that the nearby chair was occupied.

"Good morning," Chloe greeted brightly from her seat.

"Hey," Beca responded, "Uh, good morning," she ran her hand into her hair and scratched her scalp, "You're…chipper."

Chloe chuckled and turned back to face forward as the stylist continued to work on her hair.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm always a bit excited to start a project," Chloe explained, "Not a morning person I take it?"

Beca hummed, "Morning, afternoon, night."

The artist came over, a blonde woman with pale pink highlights in her hair, and instructed Beca to remove her hoodie and stand up. She did so, Chloe watching in the mirror as the brunette unzipped it and tossed it on the back of the chair. She was struck by the image in the reflection; the gray tank top fit perfectly against her chest and stomach, her exposed arms and shoulders caused Chloe to pull her bottom lip between her teeth.

She didn't realize she was staring so hard until her stylist tapped the side of her neck, "Turn this way."

She cleared her throat and obeyed, turning her head so now Beca was in her peripherals.

Beca stood as the woman circled her a moment,

"Ok," she spoke and referred to her notes sheet a moment, "So according to Gail's notes, Binx is heavily tattooed. So, this is good, we won't have to cover any of yours. I was thinking a sleeve, I made a few designs last night if you want to have a look."

Beca shook her head, "Whatever you think is best."

"Alrighty, do you have a preference which arm?"

She glanced down at the question, looking at the grasshopper donning her forearm and tracing it with a finger for a moment before gesturing to the opposite arm.

"This one," she told her, not wanting the insect to be hidden among the fake ones.

"Great, let's get started," she grinned, "I'll be right back."

"Ok, you're all set," the stylist told Chloe with a smile and a pat on her shoulder.

Chloe gave her a smile of thanks, though honestly, she was a little bummed about having to leave. She definitely wanted to spend more time with Beca. Maybe even just to keep looking at her. But duty called, so she stood up, squeezing by Beca in the small space, close enough she could feel the body heat between them.

Impulsively, Chloe moved her hand enough that the back of her fingers brushed against Beca's arm. Beca glanced down where they touched and then quickly back up to Chloe's face.

"I'll see you out there," Chloe spoke. Something about the whole interaction had Beca's mouth going dry. She swallowed before settling on just nodding in agreement and watched her go.

More and more she was feeling as though this job wouldn't be like any of her others.

X

* * *

X

Chloe continued through the rest of the prep departments, still thinking of Beca even while making sure to be friendly with everyone she met with. When she was dressed and on set, it was time for the first scene to begin filming. She made a mental note to keep her excitement to a minimum.

Yes, she'd already gushed a bit to Beca that night at the club about what a fan she was, but now that they were working, she would be as professional as ever. The cool thing about shooting out of order was that she would be sharing her first scene with Beca, even though their characters wouldn't meet until a bit later in the first act.

"To set!" Chloe heard the call, a bolt of fresh excitement hitting her spine; knowing it was time to start.

On the demand, everyone got into position, Chloe taking her place at the table set up in the "coffee shop." She took a breath to ease the first day jitters that started up and got into position looking down at the table.

"Background!"

The extras began middling about around her. The lighting was measured. The scene was announced, and the clapperboard snapped.

"Action!"

Chloe continued to look at the table a moment and then nervously turned over her shoulder. She waited for the appearance of Beca's character, announced with the bang of her dropping into the opposite chair at the table.

"You won't believe this," she heard, Beca declare; her tone of voice different than it had been during any of their brief conversations.

Chloe spun her head back around to deliver her line but was caught by the sight of Beca fully done up in character for the first time. Her dark hair was pulled up in a purposely haphazard ponytail. Several long silver necklaces layered together and hanging down her chest. A black t-shirt beneath an open navy vest displayed the newly applied tattoo covering one arm. A collection of leather bands and bracelets rested on each wrist. Her dark makeup accentuated, her pale skin and deep eyes.

Chloe was…well, she was enchanted. So much so, she completely forgot they were working and that it was her line.

At least, until John's harsh voice cut through her paralysis.

"Cut!" he hollered, "Jesus, already? It's the first scene, for God sakes!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Chloe apologized as she looked around at the crew. So much for being professional; a whole minute in and she'd already messed up and pissed off the director.

She looked at Beca, unbelievably embarrassed at the terrible impression she'd made. She put a hand to her face, feeling the redness attempting to spread, "I'm sorry."

Beca bit her lip, surprised at the urge to put the other woman at ease. Normally, she really couldn't care less about her co-stars' feelings, and she _hated_ having to redo the same moment over and over because of a dumb mistake. She just wanted to do the job and leave. But, yet again, she had the feeling of how different this time seemed.

So, she poked her tongue between her lips before saying the first thing that came to her mind.

"What did the vampire say when she masturbated in front of the mirror?"

Chloe looked up at her upon hearing the question.

"What?" she asked, more in shock than to continue the apparent joke. Beca continued anyway.

"I didn't see that coming."

The corner of her mouth lifted, and one dark eyebrow went up after she said the punchline.

The sudden laugh took Chloe by surprise as it escaped her. It continued to bubble out of her for a few moments before she was able to settle back down.

"Are we ready?" John asked, his irritation obvious as he continued on sarcastically without waiting for any actual answer, "Great. Grand. Wonderful. Back to one!"

'Thank you,' Chloe mouthed to Beca with a smile.

Beca gave her a wink and rose from the table to go wait for her cue again.

"Let's try this again. God help me; action!"

This time Chloe did it perfectly, her exchange with Beca going flawless for the rest of their scene that ended with them running from the set as the stunt glass exploded around them as if gunshots were truly flying by.

Among the crew, Gail stood having watched the interaction in between filming that put Chloe at ease and then watched intently as the finished it all on the second take. A nugget of a thought came to her mind as she did and she looked down at her notepad she brought with intention to make notes for potential rewrites or adjustments. She wrote one word, knowing when she read it over again she'd know exactly what she'd meant, and circled it twice.

' _CHEMISTRY?'_

X

* * *

X

Hours later, so many hours later, they called it a day for the cast.

Chloe waited near the trailers, hoping to catch a moment with Beca on her way out. She had finished for the day before the other woman and fought the desire to stay on set to watch her work. Choosing instead to get changed and ready as quickly as possible so she wouldn't miss Beca.

She finally spotted her making her way over. Chloe took a second to quickly run her hands through her hair, hoping she still looked presentable after the long day. Beca had been watching her own feet as she walked, so looking up and seeing Chloe waiting beside her trailer caught her off guard. She stopped walking and looked her over; her surprise no doubt showing on her face.

"Hello again," Chloe greeted, lifting her hand in a small wave.

"Hi," Beca answered, "What, uh, what are you waiting around for? Thought you'd be halfway to bed by now."

"You think, right?" Chloe chuckled, "Well, you know how I said I'm always excited before starting on the first day? I'm also pretty jazzed afterwards too. It's always exciting to start a new project."

Beca smirked.

"Trust me, that'll pass."

The cynicism was a bit of a blow to Chloe's mood, but not enough to ruin it.

"Well, um, I wanted to thank you," she began, "Really, thank you for earlier. I don't know what came over me."

That was a lie. Chloe knew exactly what it was that had affected her so much.

"Oh that. It was nothing; just a dumb joke."

"No," Chloe argued, stepping forward, "No, it was something. It made me feel…comfortable; especially after messing up like that. I needed it. I can't thank you enough. If I didn't get it together, John would've thought they'd made a mistake bringing me on. As it is, I'm sure he hates me now."

"Dude forget that guy," Beca waved her arm towards the studio, "He's a jackass. HE doesn't care about this movie."

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked, "Of course he cares."

Beca kept herself from laughing in Chloe's face at her naivety. She found she couldn't be that cruel to her. So, she just explained what she meant.

"Listen, I've worked with all kinds," she started, "I can tell the ones who love what they're doing from the ones just in it for the paycheck. Trust me, that asshole is just here for the dollar signs. Don't worry about what he thinks," Beca hesitated before adding, "We're lucky to have you here. All of us."

She never complimented co-stars, refusing to stroke anyone's ego unnecessarily, but Chloe deserved it. Again, this just felt different; she wished she knew exactly why, but it evaded her. Chloe's brilliant smile at the compliment sent a strange rush through Beca's chest. She knew by that alone she'd made the right decision.

Chloe bit her lip and glanced down briefly.

"So, not that hanging around in fake café's and pretending to run for our lives isn't a blast, but I was wondering, if you don't have your own plans with your bed, maybe we could grab a real coffee," Chloe quickly followed up; realizing it sounded as though she were asking for a date, "I-I mean, to compare notes or…you know, Binx and Maddie do become friends. So, we should probably see how we…mesh. As friends, of course."

"Of course," Beca teased back and Chloe laughed.

"So, how about it?"

Beca took out her phone and looked at the time. She had planned to hit a club for her usual fix and nightly activity back at her hotel. She thought about it for a split second before shoving it back in her pocket.

"You know, that sounds great."

"Yeah?" Chloe hadn't actually expected her to agree.

"Yeah," Beca reaffirmed and the two fell into step to head to the parking lot.

"So, which are you?" Chloe asked her while settling her hands into her pockets.

"Which what?" Beca asked, lighting a cigarette as they walked and blowing the smoke out to the side and away from Chloe.

"The people in it for the passion versus the money," she clarified, "For Bulletproof, which one are you?"

Beca looked towards her, not breaking stride and feeling the beginnings of a smile threaten her lips once again.

"I'll let you know when I figure it out."

X

X

X


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This is a long one. Hope you like it!**

* * *

 **Ch 5**

* * *

x

After a short discussion they agreed to take Chloe's car and Beca would just call for a ride when she was ready to leave; despite Chloe's assurance she wouldn't mind driving her back as well.

Chloe had to mentally calm herself down over the fact that Beca Mitchell was in her car; willingly choosing to spend time with her outside of work obligations. Chloe suggested a café she frequented that wasn't far from the studio, but Beca's sigh told her that suggestion wasn't a welcome one.

"Or not," she said; wondering if she'd somehow already ruined the night.

"Sorry," Beca apologized, feeling as though she'd just kicked a puppy. She picked at her nails as she attempted to explain, "I mean, I'd rather go somewhere a little more…low key. You know, somewhere the buzzards aren't hovering around."

"Oh, of course," Chloe realized it was something she should have considered.

Really, Chloe had only been a real paparazzi target for the last year or so, and for the most part she didn't mind them too much. Usually if she just smiled and let them do their thing for a few minutes and they were satisfied. She supposed for Beca it was different, having been such a name for so long. No doubt it was tiring; as evidenced by her demeanor whenever she _was_ caught on camera trying to go about her day.

"Do you have somewhere in mind?" she asked, hoping she could still salvage their outing.

Beca did, in fact, have a destination and the two found themselves at a small bakery. After getting their coffees and some pastries, which Beca paid for against Chloe's argument, they took a table in the back corner.

Chloe glanced around at the warm, quiet atmosphere with a smile. It had a few customers scattered inside, but everyone seemed happy to remain in their own conversations. She turned back to Beca as the girl settled in across from her.

"This is nice," she remarked, "Do you come here a lot?"

Beca shrugged, "Here and there. It's quiet. Sometimes it's nice to just sit, you know? And the employees are cool; they don't make a fuss or anything and I make sure to tip nicely for it."

"That's great. I'm glad you have a place like this," Chloe smiled, "I bet it gets overwhelming otherwise."

Beca just shrugged again and started picking at her muffin.

"So," she started, feeling a little awkward. She wasn't really sure how to talk to a pretty girl without the goal of getting her into bed; especially a girl like Chloe, "Tell me about you?"

She winced upon hearing the words that came from her mouth; it was such a generic question. However, Chloe didn't seem to think so since she lit up and began talking immediately.

"Well, I'm from Georgia, originally. I have a sister, Nicole, who's six years older than me. I did a lot of plays in school and fell in love with it. After high school I managed to convince my parents to take a chance on a crazy dream and a few years later, here I am."

"Cool," Beca nodded and continued to pick at the muffin in front of her. Chloe watched her actions and raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"What are you doing?" she asked, noticing the pile she was creating on her plate.

Beca looked up and then back down at her little project a moment as if she were surprised Chloe noticed. She wiped her hands together and glanced to Chloe again.

"Oh, I um, I'm taking out the blueberries."

Chloe chuckled, "You ordered a blueberry muffin."

"Yeah, I just…I like the flavor, but I don't like the actual berry. Plus, it gives me something to do with my hands," she explained and leaned back in the chair, "I guess it's pretty weird when you say it out loud."

Chloe shook her head, "No, it's not, it's…endearing."

"Endearing, huh?" Beca smirked, "I don't think anyone's ever used that word to describe anything about me."

"Well maybe nobody's paid attention before," she suggested with a bashful grin.

"Maybe," she couldn't help the smile that pulled at her lips.

Chloe found herself pulled into Beca's eyes again. There was something that sparked a bit in them. She was realizing quickly that she wasn't having coffee with Beca Mitchell, the celebrity whose work she admired; she was spending time with Beca, the person.

A beautiful person, at that.

She noticed as the electric silence carried on between them, that Beca's own gaze had dropped to her lips briefly. She mirrored the action to Beca's own lips; attacked by the thought of their possible taste. Beca looked away first, breaking the moment and leaving Chloe wanting.

Getting her thoughts under control, Chloe cleared her throat, "So what about you?"

"What about me?" Beca repeated putting a piece of muffin, berries removed, into her mouth.

"What's your story? Parents, siblings, how you knew you wanted to act. Anything," she questioned while taking a sip of her coffee.

"Depends. You want the pretty People magazine version or the real story?"

"Well, I have to admit I have read the official version," she shrugged and smiled nervously, "a couple times."

Beca smirked and leaned forward on her elbows.

"So, you tell me," she challenged with a quirk of her eyebrow.

Chloe laughed and nodded, leaning forward on the table as well.

"Ok," she cleared her throat and spoke through a grin, "Let's see. You're an only child. From Seattle. Parents divorced and you started after an open audition at a community center."

Chloe felt a little silly at having memorized the facts and listing them to Beca like some obsessed fangirl. Beca didn't seem to mind though, so Chloe figured she hadn't embarrassed herself too much.

"So, how'd I do?"

"That's definitely what they printed," she nodded, "It's close enough to the real thing, so I'll give you an A."

"And what is the real thing?"

"Well, for starters, I'm not from Seattle," she said directly, "I'm from North Bend. It's about half an hour from Seattle, pretty small by comparison. My, uh, my mother thought Seattle sounded better to casting agents.

Chloe didn't miss the way Beca's voice shifted when she mentioned her mother. She sounded bitter just saying the word; spiteful even. She wondered what that was about. She assumed they had a fine enough relationship since it was known that the woman was Beca's manager.

"The rest is true, more or less," Beca said looking back to the mess she'd made of her food, "My mom, she would drive us to the city anytime she heard any whiff of a casting call or audition. Didn't matter when it was or if I had to miss school to sit in a room full of hundreds of girls waiting our names to be called just to spend two minutes in front of strangers making snap judgements."

Beca's hands began to fidget, unsure why she'd shared that much with her. The woman was essentially a stranger and here Beca was talking about things she never did to anyone.

"Wow," she breathed out, "Sounds like she really believed in your dream."

Beca snorted.

"Trust me, it wasn't my dream she was pushing," Beca remarked.

"What do you mean?" she asked, though she had a sort of sense that she understood what she was saying.

Beca seemed to realize what she'd said and put it down to the weird feeling in her chest.

"Nothing," she replied, "Ignore me, I'm just tired."

Chloe wanted to ask more about it but decided it was too soon to push. So, she changed the subject and soon enough they fell into lighter conversation about random things. Time passed and soon enough Chloe was shaking her head in disbelief.

"Wait," she said as if it were the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard, "you're saying you don't have social media? Of any kind? Nothing?"

"Nope," Beca confirmed.

"But why not? It's such a good and fun way to connect with people and interact with fans."

Beca shook her head, "I mean, I feel like I've got enough aspects of my life on display. I don't think I need to willingly put any more of it out there."

Chloe nodded as she took in the reasoning.

"I guess that makes sense," she said, "But I love it. I guess that could always change down the line somewhere, but for now, I'm there."

Beca grinned, genuinely fascinated by Chloe's sincere outlook. She let out a sigh, opening and closing her hands around her cup.

"Hey, are you ok?" Chloe asked suddenly, "You look kind of…" she searched for a non-insulting way to describe the way Beca's appearance had slowly changed in the last few minutes, "I don't know, are you feeling ok?"

Beca took a mental inventory of her body at the words. She noticed for the first time exactly how off she had begun to feel. Her hands were a bit jittery; at some point she had apparently begun tearing up a napkin to expel the energy. Her shirt was beginning to stick to her back in patches where she'd started to sweat.

Her eyes widened a fraction as she finally recognized what was wrong. She pulled her hands from the table and hid them from Chloe's gaze. That was something she definitely didn't need to let Chloe in on. Checking the time on her phone she began to panic internally.

No wonder, she couldn't remember the last time she'd gone without for so long. She thought of the pill in her jacket she'd pocketed to hold the edge off until she went out that night.

Chloe waiting at her trailer and their impromptu coffee outing had somehow distracted her and now her body was paying for it. She didn't want to leave her company just yet, but there was no discreet way to get it out and take it without Chloe noticing and taking her jacket to the bathroom with her might seem a bit strange.

"Beca?" Chloe asked; growing concerned as Beca's silence continued.

"Yeah?" she questioned automatically before quickly remembering herself and going on, "Sorry. Sorry, um, it's just, it's getting late and I'm kind of tired, like I said. I think I better head out."

"Oh," Chloe didn't bother hiding her disappointment, but she supposed it had been a long day and there was another waiting for them tomorrow, "Let me drive you back."

"No!" she said too quickly, "No, I'll just get a car; it's fine. I'm not going to the studio, I'll just get a ride back to my hotel. It's fine."

She watched Beca pull out some case and leave it on the table. She couldn't help but notice the way her hands shook as she left the impressive tip. Was she sick?

"I insist," Chloe said standing in her way, "Please, Beca, you don't look well. Let me take you home. Please."

Beca clamped her increasingly unsteady hands into fists to quell their movements. She opened her mouth to decline. She knew she should say no. She had to say no.

Shit, why couldn't she say no to her?

"Yeah, ok," she found herself saying.

"Good," Chloe forced a smile through her concern as Beca put on her jacket.

As soon as she forced her unsteady hands through the sleeves, Beca jammed her hands into the pockets; feeling her heart speed up with anticipation when she felt the capsule in her left. She thought about excusing herself to the bathroom real fast to 'wash up' or even sneaking the pill while Chloe got in the car but dismissed both ideas. She didn't want to risk being caught on the high and make a fool of herself in front of Chloe again.

Even if she was pretty sure her habit was one of the worst kept secrets around, having Chloe witness it would be different than just her hearing about it through rumors and talk. She could hold on a few more minutes until she was alone.

In the car they rode mostly in silence after she gave Chloe the name of her hotel. During that time, she could feel Chloe's eyes moving to her every few seconds, making it all somehow feel worse. She needed a distraction. Swallowing thickly against her dry throat, she managed to speak again.

"We never got around to comparing notes," she said, resting her head against the cool window for relief.

Chloe bashfully grinned to herself, letting her eyes fly between Beca and the road a few times.

"I have to admit something," she started, "I made that up. I just wanted to spend time with you."

"So scandalous," she smirked to herself and raised her head from the glass, "Well I should admit something too. I knew that."

"You did? Was I that obvious?"

Beca nodded with a grin; hoping it didn't look like the grimace she felt on her end.

"Then why did you agree to come? No offense, but you don't seem like you enjoy social stuff too much."

Beca shrugged.

"Maybe I wanted to spend time with you, too."

The smile that blossomed across Chloe's face just then sent a whole new itch of need through Beca; one that had nothing to do with pills. The urge to taste those lips flew through her so fast she nearly gasped in response. Knowing she shouldn't, she couldn't, Beca turned her eyes back to the window and cleared her throat.

"Right here," she pointed to the tall building.

Chloe pulled up to the entrance of the hotel; putting the car in park to turn completely towards her passenger.

"I had fun tonight," she told her, "Thank you for coming."

"Thank you," she replied, "I enjoyed the company."

Chloe blushed and another strong silence settled between them. Beca knew what Chloe was waiting for. She could feel it in the air.

It was electric.

She knew if she were to lean over and kiss her, she wouldn't be rejected. It would probably be amazing. But Beca also knew she wouldn't want to stop at just a kiss if she did. She would want more and she was positive Chloe would be willing as well.

But she couldn't do that to her.

She couldn't taint her like that. Not Chloe. She was still innocent compared to her. She was light and hope and Beca was the opposite of it all. So, she did what was best and ended the moment before she could lose her willpower.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said suddenly; opening the door quickly so she wouldn't have to see the disappointment she was certain would be all over Chloe's face, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Chloe said quietly to the empty car.

She couldn't help but feel let down. She had been sure they'd had a moment there. The kind of moment that lead to something; maybe small, maybe more. But Beca had already said she was tired and she really hadn't looked great towards the end of their evening. Perhaps it was best she just get some rest.

With a sigh, she drove back to her own bed; still optimistic about the positive aspects of the night.

x

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x

Inside, Beca watched from the lobby window until the car left. Once it did, she dry swallowed the pill and closed her eyes, waiting for it to take the harshest edges off her itching body. After a moment, feeling the beginnings of relief spread through her, she took out her phone and called for a car. She'd already taken care of one need, now she had to take care of the other.

A short time later, Beca was back among the pulsating music of the familiar club. Plied with alcohol and a couple extra boosts from an always dependable source, Beca easily spotted the last fix she needed. A few flirtations and well played looks were all it took.

Beca found herself back in her room, pulling the clothes off a willing young woman whose hair was a little too red to be natural. Between hard kisses in the darkness and Beca moving them onto the bed, the woman declared breathlessly.

"God, you're hot."

"Mm," she voiced, moving to kiss down her neck as she pressed her down into the mattress, "No talking."

Normally she didn't care, but she was playing with a fragile illusion right then and her voice only ruined the delicate deception. And that night, she needed it as much as the drugs coursing through her body.

X

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X

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X


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello all! Apologies for the time it took for this update. As my other story was coming to its end I focused energy on finishing that out and now it's complete all but the epilogue chapter. So (shameless plug) if anyone feels so inclined to check out my nearly 3 year project "Her Words Destroyed My Planet" go nuts! Anyway, this one is on the longer side so hopefully that makes up for the delay.**

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 **Ch 6**

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Beca woke with a gasp; her heart hammering in her chest and sweat coating her skin. She wiped a hand down her face in an attempt to get her bearings. Flashes of the dream played through her mind as she stared up at the ceiling.

Bodies tangling together.

The feel of skin and sweat colliding.

Heavy breaths echoing in the dark.

It was all so potent she could almost assume it was just a memory of the previous night. Almost. If it weren't for the hands in her hair pulling her head back to look at the face her bedmate.

She'd been shocked awake the instant her eyes found Chloe Beale looking up at her.

Shaken by the dream, Beca pushed off the blanket and threw her legs over the side of the bed. Propping her elbows on her knees, she dropped her face into her hands.

What the hell was what about? She'd never dreamt about a coworker before; let alone such an intense dream. Of course, she'd also never spent hours just talking with one either. It turned out she was doing a lot of things for the first time recently, and it all somehow centered around Chloe.

She let out a frustrated sigh and lifted her head, swiping her hair out of her face. The sound of the sheets shifting behind her came a moment before a warm hand slid up the curve of her bare back.

"What wrong?" the sleepy voice asked.

Beca looked over her shoulder. The red-haired woman from the night before looked up at her from the pillow. The hand on her back began to scratch lightly against her skin.

"Are you ok?"

Beca cleared her throat.

"You need to go."

The look of surprise coincided with the hand dropping back to the mattress. The woman glanced over at the clock on the nightstand and then back to Beca.

"Right now?" she asked in disbelieve, "It's 5 a.m. You won't even let the sun come up first?"

Beca sighed again and then stood up. She began finding her clothes and began to dress in the dark.

"Fine. Wait for the sun," she told her, plopping into a chair to tug her boots on, "Do what you want. I've got to go."

The woman scoffed and sat up, "Damn, I'm not trying to get a ring out of you or anything. I'll go; I just don't see why we can't sleep through the damn night. You don't need to run off."

Beca had already risen to her feet again and threw on her hoodie.

"Gotta work in a few hours anyway," she dismissed and headed to the door. Pausing she scratched the back of her head, ruffling up her hair, "There's cash in the drawer if you want it. If you're going to steal anything just leave the guitar."

She didn't wait for a response as she left the room. With nothing else to do, she decided to just head to set early.

* * *

X

* * *

Chloe smiled brightly for the selfie with the picture with the girls who immediately began gushing their thanks before going on their way and squealing amongst each other. Chloe watched them leave with a smile and turned back to Aubrey.

"Sorry," she apologized for the interruption as they continued down the sidewalk.

"Don't apologize," Aubrey dismissed, "It's a good thing. You have fans who love you and giving them your time like that is great for your reputation."

"I don't do it for a reputation."

"Oh I know," she assured, "It's just a bonus. You make my job pretty easy."

They arrived at the restaurant for brunch and were led directly to a table.

"How much time do you have?" Aubrey asked, checking the time on her phone.

Chloe glanced at her watch as well.

"I'm supposed to be there at two, so no rush."

"Great," she opened the menu, "So, how was the first day?"

"A few bumps, but otherwise it was awesome," she told her excitedly, "I think this is going to be a good one."

"How's the director? I've heard he can be a jerk."

"Definitely a hard one. He had some stuff to say when I messed a take."

"Ugh, what did he say?"

Chloe shook her head and waved a hand dismissively as their coffees came.

"It's nothing important," she answered, "I was a little down about it, but Beca helped."

"Did she now?" Aubrey asked with a careful cynicism. She took a drink of her coffee and set the mug down, "And you're…getting along with Beca?"

"Yeah," Chloe replied enthusiastically, "We actually went out afterwards. Went to this little place Beca suggested for coffee and talked for a while."

"About what?"

"A bunch of stuff," Chloe laughed as she remembered, "She did the cutest thing with her muffin. She actually- "

"Ok," Aubrey interrupted, holding her hand up, "I don't want to rain on your parade here, but making friends with Beca Mitchell is a bad idea. You want to talk about reputations…"

She let it hang with a pointed look.

"Oh she's not as bad as they say," she defended, "Really, Aubrey, she was perfectly normal. She wanted a quiet calm place to talk. She even told me this stupid little joke on set to cheer me up."

"All sober and well-intentioned, I'm sure."

"It was. We just hung out until she started feeling sick, then I dropped her at her hotel and went home. It was all perfectly innocent and nothing like you would expect."

"Uh-huh," Aubrey clicked her tongue and worked a few touches to her phone, "This look like someone feeling sick?"

She turned the phone around to show Chloe the screen. Blue eyes saw the TMZ website with its obnoxious large font above a snapped photo.

' _Beca Mitchell Nightly Parties Continue'_

The photo was taken from a distance but it was obviously Beca. She was exiting a club with a girl pressed against her side. Chloe's mouth opened without any words leaving her. The time stamp on the photo clearly declared it was taken in the late hours of the previous night, or rather, that morning.

She felt a burn of jealousy at the sight of the stranger draping herself all over Beca. But more than that, she felt the harsh sting of realization that Beca had lied to her. She hadn't been tired or sick. She just wanted to get away from Chloe.

She shook her head and gave Aubrey back her phone.

"Well…" she started, feeling awkward and stupid for the way she'd let her imagination run off with possibilities, "It's not really my business, is it?"

"Chloe, I'm sorry if- "

"It's fine," she cut her off; not wanting to talk about it anymore, "Like I said: not my business."

She cleared her throat and focused on what she would order; silently berating herself. Obviously, whatever she thought had passed between them was all one-sided. But she resolved to not focus on it. She had to work with Beca in a few hours for the first half of her day and she would be professional.

* * *

X

* * *

Beca sat in her designated chair on set, waiting as the crew prepped for their next scene. Her headphones blocking out the chatter as she listened to the music on her phone. She slouched down enough to tilt her head back against the chair and closed her eyes. She let the music pull her into a calm zone as she lifted her cigarette to her lips and took a deep pull.

Blowing the smoke upward, she opened her eyes and watched it rise and swirl away as the lyrics filled her head.

' _All I see is zombies_

 _Hear them screaming at her_

 _They can smell your money_

 _And they want your soul_

 _Here they come behind you_

 _Try to stay alive'_

The background singers entered with their ominous breathy contribution that went straight into Beca's bones.

' _We're coming out to get you_

 _We're oh so glad we met you_

 _We're eating you for profit_

 _There is no way to stop it'_

She was pulled out her head with a jerk of surprise when a hand suddenly cut through the air above her; banishing the tendrils of dancing smoke. She moved her gaze over to see her mother standing with hands on her hips and fire in her eyes. Beca made a point to lean back again but her headphones were ripped off before she could settle back down.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Right now?" she remarked with a quirk of her eyebrow.

"I'm serious, Rebecca."

"So am I, _Angela_."

She moved to take another drag but her mother slapped the cigarette out of her hand.

"You left that…person alone in your room. Do you have any idea what could've happened?"

"She didn't take my guitar, did she?"

"Who cares about that monstrosity?" she said angrily and then hissed, "She was in your drawer!"

"I told her to take some money. You know, cut out the middle mom from giving it to her anyway."

"And what if she'd found…" she paused and looked around for curious ears before lowering her voice, "…something else? She could've gone to the police. They would have brought you in and the story would be everywhere within an hour!"

"I supposed I would just tell them my mommy gave it to me."

Her mother's face hardened even more and Beca was sure if there weren't people around, she'd slap her right then and there. Instead, Angela leaned in close to her daughter and spoke in a low voice.

"Listen to me," she began, "we've worked too hard to get here. You won't ruin it because you make stupid decisions. Do you want us to go back to being pathetic nobodies? Hm? Because that's what you are without this."

Beca swallowed as she heard the familiar words. She looked down in her lap and fiddled with her phone to have something to do with her hands.

"No," she answered softly.

"Good," she answered and looked up as they called places. Angela put a kiss on top of her head, "You know I love you, right? I just want what's best for you."

Beca just nodded and stood up, "Of course."

She went right into her scenes with Luke, getting it done and dusted in a few takes. Once it was done, she saw Chloe arrive for the next sequence. She tried to give her a nod of hello from across the room but the usually friendly girl didn't acknowledge her. Apparently deciding a chat with Dom was more important.

The odd response unsettled Beca but she tried to chalk it up to Chloe just wanting to talk to with the other girl. But the apparent indifference to her continued as they stood near one another in the false living room and for the first time Beca longed for some pre-action small talk.

"So," she began awkwardly, "how was your morning?"

"Fine."

Beca nodded at the short answer and glanced around, scratched behind her ear as she searched for something that would encourage Chloe to talk to her. She forced an amused smile and gestured to the knick-knack's props had decorated the area with to make it look lived in.

"Nice place you got here," she joked of what was 'Addison's' hoe, "Who's your decorator?"

"I don't know," Chloe answered and finally looked at Beca, "Maybe that girl you were with last night. She looked like she had style."

Her brows furrowed together, "What?"

Chloe scoffed and crossed her arms.

"You know, what you do in your free time is up to you. But why lie to me about being tired? We're adults Beca, if you didn't want to spend time with me, you just had to say so."

"No, it wasn't- "

"I'm not the kind of person you like to be around. It's fine. We'll work together and that's it."

"Chloe- "

"I said it's fine," she interrupted her again, "It is. Because I'm not like you. I don't lie about what I'm feeling. I don't go out until all hours and drink until I can't walk and hook up with strangers for fun. So it's whatever; I'll be professional and I won't bug you anymore."

Beca opened her mouth to reply but was stopped by the director's declaration they were ready to begin. Beca swallowed down her guilt, feeling it add on to the pile her mother's words had put in her chest, and got to work.

They got through the few scenes they shared with ease. Chloe had, as she said, remained professionally distant and offered no middle ground and soon it Beca was wrapped for the day. Chloe still had a few more hours, as she was the main character. Beca tried to catch her eye as she left but Chloe refused to allow it; not even glancing her way as she made her exit.

Once she'd left, Chloe went through the rest of her day, doing her best to keep her mind off Beca. She was somewhat successful, though John found the need to criticize her again a few times and it made her wish the other girl was still around.

At the end of the long day, which felt much less fulfilling than the first, Chloe dragged herself home. After parking and heading to the apartment building, her feet stopped in surprise at someone sitting on the outside stairs.

Not just someone. Beca Mitchell was sitting on the stoop, head down stairs at the ground.

"Beca?" she asked, conveying her shock. Beca lifted her head at the voice, "What are you doing here?"

"I, uh, I didn't know when you'd be done and…I remembered you mentioned renting an apartment here," she looked up for a moment, "It's a nice building."

"Thanks," she answered slowly, still confused as she stepped closer, "But why are you here? How-How long have you been here?"

"Um," she held up her phone, "It died a little while ago. Not sure what time it is now, but…a few hours. As for why…I'm not sure, really. I was just thinking about what you said and here I am."

"Beca," Chloe approached and sat on the step beside her, "I wasn't trying to upset you. I mean, maybe, in the moment, I kind of was. I'm sorry."

"No, you were right," Beca said and rubbed a hand down her face, "When you said you aren't like me. You're right. You're nothing like me. That's what's great about you. I'm the last person you want to be anything like."

"Right," Chloe bumped her shoulder into Beca's, "Why would I ever want to be funny, clever, or talented?"

Beca shook her head at the compliments.

"Look, last night, I…" she started rubbing her hands together between her knees as the night continued to chill around them, "It wasn't that I didn't want to spend time with you."

"Then why did you try to get away so fast just to go out and party?" she asked, "And why lie about it?"

"Because…" she started, feeling the words bubble up and spill out before she could stop herself, "Because I _wanted_ to spend time with you."

Chloe turned her body towards her, facing the woman completely.

"I don't understand."

"I wanted to but then something…reminded me why I shouldn't," she left vague what it was exactly; still wanting to keep that part of her hidden from Chloe. That terrible need that crept up on her, "Because you aren't like me. You're …good and I'm…"

She didn't finish her sentence, instead looked up at the sky and chuckled nervously.

"Wow, that was something to say, wasn't it?"

"I'm not perfect, you know," Chloe remarked. Beca didn't respond though, only continued to look up at the sky. Chloe lifted her own eyes and let out a long sigh, deciding to allow the subject to drop since Beca appeared to want it, "It's beautiful tonight, you can see all the stars."

"Yeah," Beca agreed without looking away, "Don't see it too often here."

Chloe smiled to herself as she continued to look up.

"You know, when I was growing up back in Georgia, I would sit with my dad on the porch and we'd spend hours looking at the stars, just taking it all in. He would tell me all the myths and stories about the constellations," she reminisced happily, "Once, when I was teenager we were looking at them after I'd just been dumped, he put his arm around me and he told me 'ChloBear, the only person good enough for you would scoop the stars out of the sky with their hat and lay them at your feet.' I think about that a lot when I see them."

Beca grinned at the sweet story.

"He was right."

Chloe felt herself blush when she realized Beca was looking at her. They held eye contact for a while. Something electric in the air, like static buzzing between them. Her heart began to speed up and her eyes dropped to Beca's lips. She saw her tongue poke out between them, wetting the tempting skin. Her breath hitched as she saw Beca's begin to inch forward. Her own eyes slid closed and her lips parted in anticipation. She felt her skin begin to tingle as Beca's breath danced over her lips.

A loud, long honk came from a car somewhere on the street and the two of them jumped apart at the sudden interruption. Chloe laughed nervously and brushed hair behind her ear while looking at her lap. She cleared her throat and tried to get them away from the awkward moment.

"What about your dad?" she asked, "You didn't mention him when we talked before."

"Oh…I haven't seen him in years," she admitted.

"There's got to be some cute memories though, I hope? Did you ever look at the stars?"

"Not really."

Her eyes fell to the tattoo on her forearm and ran her fingertip along the ink lines.

"He used to call me Grasshopper."

Chloe let out an amused chuckle, "Were you bouncing around all over the place?"

Beca shook her head and cleared her throat.

"No, it wasn't anything like that," she started to explain, "See he was a literature professor, probably still is for all I know. When I was a kid, I thought he was the smartest person alive; the best person alive. See, I'm, well, when I was a kid, we found out I'm dyslexic."

"Oh, I had no idea."

"No one does. My mom doesn't want anyone to. But it's fine, I manage all right," she dismissed, "My dad, though, he would sit with me for hours at a time, helping me with homework and any time I just wanted to read. He was so patient with me through it all. He was such a great teacher for me and I started nipping at his heels, following him around all the time to teach me everything he could. Chess, guitar, history, anything I could think of, I asked about. It didn't matter if he'd been working all day or my mom was driving him nuts, if I ran up to him, he'd say, 'What's our lesson today, Young Grasshopper?' and give me whatever time he had."

Beca hadn't realized she'd begun smiling at some point in the story until she stopped talking. She looked back at Chloe and cleared her throat again.

"Anyway…" she shrugged, "Yeah, that's a good memory."

"Wow," Chloe breathed out.

"What?"

"It's just," she shook her head in amazement, "When you were telling that story…I think that's the happiest I've ever seen you. It's beautiful."

Beca laughed uncomfortably and shrugged again; always uncertain how to take a true compliment.

Chloe sense her discomfort and, though she wanted to ask why she hadn't seen her father in so long since they appeared to have a good relationship when she was young, decided to take pity on her and not press.

She looked behind her at the front door, "Do you want to come up for a while?"

"Oh," Beca looked up at the building, "I don't know if I should."

"Beca," she said, hoping the direct approach would work, "I'd like it if you came upstairs and had a drink with me."

Beca worried her bottom lip briefly and, against her better judgement, answered honestly.

"I would love to."

* * *

X

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X

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X

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X

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 **A/N: Lyrics are from the song Zombies by Childish Gambino. I don't own it. All rights belong to Donald Glover and anyone else involved in the writing/performing/producing/distribution of the song.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Yes, I'm alive. Yes, this story is still going. Had some health stuff, but you can't keep me down forever!**

* * *

 **Ch. 7**

* * *

x

"Can I ask you something?"

Beca wiped the back of her hand across her lips, removing any droplets of beer that may be lingering there.

"Besides that one?" she

Chloe grinned slightly and propped her elbow on the back of the couch, leaning on her arm and nudging Beca with her foot.

"I'm serious," she chuckled. They'd been hanging out for a while now, drinking and talking about nothing serious. Beca always managing to turn any attempt into a joke. Chloe decided to try again during the patch of quiet that had settled between them on the couch, "A real question, with a real answer. No jokes or sarcastic deflecting. Just…Chloe talking to Beca."

Beca took another pull from the bottle and cleared her throat after swallowing. She didn't know how this would go. She'd already discovered she seemed to have a problem with telling Chloe things she wouldn't normally tell people.

"Ok."

Chloe looked at the woman on the other end of the couch.

"Why do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"All of it. This job, this…life," she clarified, "You just, you don't seem to like it very much. Or at all."

Beca scoffed before she could stop herself, which didn't go unnoticed by Chloe.

"So, why do you? Is it the money?"

Beca looked at the beer bottle in her hand and started picking at the edges of the label.

"Honestly?"

Chloe gave her a small smile, "Please."

"I don't give a shit about the money."

Chloe suspected as much; she'd never seen anything that said otherwise. Beca certainly wasn't the type that threw money around on anything like ridiculously large houses or insanely expensive cars or clothes. From everything she'd ever seen of her, she looked like she could be just any other woman walking down the street. If it weren't for the constant flock of photographers that followed her, that is.

So, no, it clearly wasn't about the money.

"Then why? If you're unhappy, why not stop and do something else? Something that makes you happy?"

Beca remained quiet for a few moments; fingers continuing to anxiously pluck at the drink label.

"I've been…" she sighed, as if the weight of the words were too heavy for her voice to lift and release, "I've been doing this so long, I…I don't know how to do anything. I'm not _good_ at anything else."

"Now that can't be true," Chloe argued, "You can do anything you want. I know it."

"That's sweet, but," Beca shook her head, feeling the alcohol loosen her lips even more, "This is all I have, you know? I don't have anything concrete; only what's next. The next job, the next set, the next flight, the next city. There's always a next. If I don't do this, if I don't have that _next_ , I've got nothing. I _am_ nothing. I mean, that's what she's been saying since this all started, so it's gotta be true."

Chloe's eyebrows lifted in confusion.

"Who?" she questioned; wondering who would drill such a terrible thought into someone's head.

Beca shook her head and released a bitter laugh.

"You know what the irony of it is?" she asked, "Without this I'm nothing, but the more I do it the more I feel exactly that way. Like nothing," she wiped her hand harshly over her face, "But as long as I keep doing it, I'm too busy to think about it."

Chloe was speechless. She'd asked Beca for a real answer, but God she wasn't expecting what she got. Her words, her confession really, had been so genuine; so heartbreakingly raw. Chloe didn't know how to respond.

"Beca, I…"

The woman just shook her head quickly, "No it's ok. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring the mood down so much. Shit," she wiped her face again and kept her hand over her eyes for an extra second to regain control of her thoughts and words, "I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize. It's fine. I just, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you feel that way, like you're…stuck."

"Well," Beca whispered, shrugging her shoulders and letting it hang.

There was nothing to be done about it. Her eyes drifted across the room and perked a bit when she caught sight of something she hadn't noticed before then. Seeing the opportunity to lighten the mood, she stood up and walked over towards it.

"What do we have here?" She picked up the guitar and came back over to the couch, plopping back down onto the cushion, "You play?"

"Oh God," Chloe said embarrassed as she admitted, "Barely. I figure it would help the resume; you know?"

Beca grinned and held the instrument out towards her.

"Play me something."

Chloe snorted and set her drink down on the coffee table.

"No way," she said with a laugh, "I'm not good enough or drunk enough to play for anyone except the instructor."

"Ok, fine then. I'll be your instructor for tonight," Beca said as she settled the guitar in her lap, "This is an E chord."

Beca stated with a confident smirk and played the note, "There, I taught you something. Don't worry, first lesson's free."

Chloe smiled brightly and sat up straight, "Wait, do you play?"

Beca shrugged, "I told you my dad taught me, didn't I? I might've kept practicing over the years."

"Do you know any songs? Will you play me one?"

"Wait a minute," she chuckled, "I asked you first."

"Yeah, but I can barely put two chords together. If you know actual songs, I think it's only fair," she pressed, "Please?"

Beca felt her heart skip around in her chest at Chloe's plea; how her eyes seemed to get bluer as she widened them to a puppy like fashion. God, she wondered if she'd be able to deny Chloe any request. A song did pop into her head in that moment. One her father used to play; that he'd been teaching her and she'd continued to work on during her sparse time alone. She bit her lip as she glanced down at the polished instrument in her hands.

She cleared her throat and decided to go for it, deciding to share this precious piece of memory with Chloe. Settling into position, she began to strum; playing the simple intro before beginning to sing softly.

' _What you looking down for_

 _Staring at the ground for_

 _Had to take the long way home_

 _Always on the sidelines_

 _Always having hard times_

 _Everywhere you go_

 _But if we believed_

 _In all the things they said when we were young_

 _I'd be a broken man_

 _Full of broken dreams_

 _With a broken heart'_

Chloe stared, completely hypnotized. Yet again, she'd asked something from Beca and she over-delivered to blow her away. She had no idea Beca could sing so beautifully.

' _It's gonna be alright_

 _You're gonna be golden_

 _You're gonna be fallin in love before you know it, kid_

 _It's gonna be alright_

 _You're gonna be golden_

 _You're gonna be fallin in love'_

Beca's voice seemed to be going straight into Chloe's heart. Her beautiful voice filled her veins with an incredible sort of buzz. She was practically vibrating as she sat watching her. Beca never failed to surprise.

' _Kid when I was your size_

 _Yeah, I had a hard time_

 _Had to take the long way home_

 _Looking over my shoulder_

 _Wishing I was older_

 _Never knew which way to go_

 _But if we believed_

 _In all the things they said when we were young_

 _I'd be a broken man_

 _Full of broken dreams_

 _With a broken heart_

 _It's gonna be alright_

 _You're gonna be golden_

 _You're gonna be fallin in love before you kno- '_

Beca's voice was cut off, the guitar letting out a jarring twang when Chloe suddenly grabbed her by the back of her neck with one hand and pulled her in for a searing kiss. Completely shocked, it took Beca a moment to fully comprehend what was happening. Once she did though, she couldn't help but to kiss her right back.

The fire that began brewing in her stomach the moment she saw Chloe exploded through the rest of her body. Her hands went to Chloe's hips and she desperately pulled her closer.

The clunk of the guitar between them prevented the action and Chloe pulled back a moment.

"Oops," she giggled and moved the instrument onto the floor, freeing the space between them, "That's better."

She leaned in again, intent on continuing, but Beca found herself putting her hands on her shoulders and keeping her from succeeding.

"Wait," she said breathlessly, "Just…are you sure? We're drunk and, I mean, we probably shouldn't- "

"I want to," Chloe interrupted; refusing to give Beca a chance to question it, "What do you want?"

Beca swallowed; hearing the arguments in her head for why she shouldn't. Everything she said to Chloe outside was still true. This was a bad idea for a hundred reasons.

And yet…

"I want you," she whispered honestly.

Chloe smiled and moved into Beca again, a bit softer this time but no less passionate. The taste of Chloe somehow simultaneously weakened and emboldened her all at once. It was a high unlike any she'd experienced from any drug and she could already feel herself becoming dangerously addicted.

Like an addict, Beca needed more.

She pressed into the kiss, increasing the intensity. Pulling herself completely up onto the couch and used her body to push Chloe back to lay flat. Now below Beca, Chloe arched her back, pressing as much of herself against her as possible. She needed it. All of it.

She needed _her_.

Somewhere in her mind, Chloe was aware that this was happening very fast. But she didn't pay any attention to that voice. How could she with Beca filling all of her senses. She felt her hands begin to trail up her sides, her warm fingers sliding over the material of her tank top. The skin beneath it ached to be rid of the barrier between and to feel Beca's touch directly on her skin.

Beca's lips moved to place warm wet kisses along her jaw. Chloe could hear her own heavy breaths echoing back in her ears.

"Beca," she said between breaths, lifting her hips to find friction against her.

"Tell me to stop," Beca answered, her lips moving down her neck to the pulse point, "Tell me to stop and I will."

"Don't," Chloe responded, her own hands tangling into dark hair above her. She pulled it back, lifting Beca's head up and looked into her somehow even darker eyes; licking her lips she spoke almost in a growl, "Bedroom."

Beca pressed another strong kiss onto her lips then pulled back and lifted an eyebrow.

"Lead the way."

Chloe smiled and slid out from underneath her. Grabbing Beca's hand, Chloe pulled her along as she hurried to the bedroom. A laugh bubbled from her chest as she basically ran through the apartment. She stopped at the foot of the bed and spun around.

"Oof!" her breath flew out of her as Beca's momentum knocked them both onto the bed. Beca rolled over to lay on her back as she began to laugh as well.

"Oops," Beca said and turned her head to face Chloe beside her. She noticed the way she was looking at her and wondered, "What?"

Chloe bit her lips as she smiled, "I've never heard you laugh before. Like really laugh."

Beca smirked, "Freak you out, did it?"

"Totally," she teased and wrapped Beca's hand up in her own and tugged on it, "Come here."

"Yes ma'am," she agreed and pulled herself to hover over Chloe again. Propping up with her hands on either side of her, she looked down at Chloe's face, taking in every inch.

"Hi," Chloe said softly, smiling up at her.

"Hi," she returned, her thumb beginning to stroke lightly over Chloe's temple, "Last chance to turn me down."

Chloe reached up to brush Beca's hair back, leaving her hands on either side of her face. Instead of answering, she just pulled her down until their lips met again.

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Sweat soaked and breathless, Chloe went boneless as she came down from Beca's magic. Still lying between her legs, Beca fell against Chloe, her head settling on Chloe's stomach. She slid her arms beneath her naked body, wrapping them around Chloe as she rested on top of her.

Chloe somehow found the strength in her weak arm to move it enough to begin running her fingers through Beca's hair on her midsection. Feeling Beca rise and fall with Chloe's panting body.

"That was…" she started, searching for a word that would do justice to the ecstasy she'd just experienced at Beca's skilled hands.

"Thanks," Beca said breathlessly against Chloe's slick skin. She placed a kiss on the skin there before pushing herself up and crawling over her, kissing her way up Chloe's body until she reached her lips.

After putting one more kiss there, she turned to lay beside her, facing the ceiling. Chloe took this as an invitation and rolled over to drape herself over Beca's nude form, nuzzling into her neck with a content sigh. Beca chuckled and wrapped her arm around her, holding her there.

They remained silent for a few moments as their bodies recovered and their breathing returned to normal. After a while, Chloe began to feel a bit self-conscious in the silence.

"What are you thinking?"

"You think my brain is actually working right now?"

Chloe tilted her head to look up at her, "I can practically hear the gears turning."

Beca didn't say anything for a few moments, running her hand up and down Chloe's bare back.

"This is new to me."

Chloe pushed herself up and glanced at Beca.

"No offense, but I don't think that's true at all."

Beca shook her head, her face more serious than Chloe was expecting as she spoke.

"Not that," she said, "This," she gestured between them.

"You mean with a co-worker?" she asked.

"I mean…wanting to stay," she explained, "After."

Chloe smiled softly, laying back down and snuggling into Beca once again.

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 ***Song Beca sings is "Golden" by Wakey!Wakey! Check it out if ya like cause it's a good'n.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello all. Fun fact, I wrote this chapter a few weeks ago, decided I hated, trashed the whole thing and rewrote it. The first draft went a different direction than this one, but this one brings a little bit of the conflicts that I've been working towards.**

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 **Ch 8**

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Chloe woke with a lazy smile, feeling sore in all the right places. She rolled onto her back and stretched her arms up over her head and moaned once her muscles were satisfied. Dropping her arms back down, she rubbed her eyes before opening them as she turned to look beside her as she spoke.

"Good morn- "

Her words fell off upon seeing the empty space in her bed. Sitting up quickly, she looked into the connected bathroom's open door, hoping to spot Beca within.

Nothing.

She sighed in disappointment.

She thought back to the night before; when Beca held her and said she wanted to stay. Chloe knew of the rumors of Beca's reputation when it came to relationships. Mainly that she was never really in them reportedly. Stories of her being a 'playboy', for lack of a better word, were often littered across the rags along with grainy snapshots like the one Aubrey had shown her.

But Chloe was embarrassed to admit to herself that she hoped this would be different. That she would be different. Yet here she was, alone the morning after. She sighed dejectedly and set about starting her morning while thinking about what working with Beca would be like now. Were they supposed to pretend nothing happened between them? Chloe didn't know if she could do that.

Not after the way Beca opened up to her last night. Not after what they experienced together.

She'd just pulled her shirt over her head when a voice came.

"Oh, you're up," Chloe jumped in surprise when she saw Beca standing there, "…and wearing clothes."

Chloe just stared at her for a moment, "You're here."

At her obvious observation, Beca looked self-conscious.

"Should I not be?" she looked down at herself and Chloe realized for the first time that Beca was only clad in her bra and underwear, "Should I get dressed too? I can go, if- "

"No, no," Chloe said quickly, shaking her head, "Sorry, I just… you weren't here when I woke up and I thought…"

"Oh," Beca realized what her assumption must've been. Rightly so, she supposed, "You thought I left without my clothes?"

She nodded over to the corner where Chloe hadn't noticed her clothing from the night before still lay in a heap.

"I was going to, I mean, I thought I'd make you some breakfast," Beca shrugged.

"You made breakfast? That's so sweet."

"Well, not really. I said I was going to, but I was in the kitchen and realized it would be cruel to subject you to anything I cooked. But I made coffee."

Chloe laughed.

"Well, it's the thought that counts," she said, stepping closer and dropping her arms over Beca's shoulders, "And it was a very sweet thought."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she said softly and leaned in for a kiss.

"Mm, you should hear the thoughts I'm having right now."

Chloe let silence sit for a moment before gasping dramatically and patting her palm against Beca's cheek in a fake slap.

Beca laughed, "Ah, you heard that one, did you?"

"Loud and clear," she answered, playing along, "I may pay you back for that tonight."

Beca slid her hands beneath Chloe's shirt and ran her warm palms up her back, "Why wait?"

Chloe chuckled and dropped her forehead onto her shoulder; wishing she could oblige to exactly that. She groaned as she accepted that she couldn't.

"That sounds amazing," she admitted, "but I have to meet Aubrey and I have an interview with _People_ before call."

" _Or_ ," she countered, "You forget all that, and these clothes, and we just stay here all day."

"Ugh, don't tempt me."

Chloe kissed her again, pulling back before it could get too deep, "Come on, I'll make some real breakfast to go with that coffee."

She smiled brightly and left the room.

"Put some clothes on," she requested on her way out, "It's not fair."

Beca sighed, disappointed. She knew Chloe assumed she had been playing around, but she'd been serious. She didn't want to go back out to the world and on with life out there. She wanted to stay right there with Chloe where it felt like the rest of it didn't exist. She scratched her jaw and went over to pick up her jacket. She reached into the pocket while glancing over her shoulder to ensure Chloe wasn't returning and quickly slipped the pill into her mouth and swallowing quickly.

She closed her eyes, imagining it falling into her stomach and releasing into her system, just enough to keep her able to move through the day.

"Beca," she heard Chloe call out from within the apartment, "How do you like your eggs?"

She opened her eyes and wiped her face.

"Cooked," she called back and began to get dressed.

They were at soon at the table eating when Chloe got up the nerve to start a conversation that had been picking at her.

"So," she started and set her fork down, "I don't want to be _that_ girl, but what does this mean?"

Beca swallowed her bite, "Breakfast?"

"Not that," she said with a nervous chuckle, "I mean, are we…together? Do you want to _be_ something or is, was, this just sex?"

Beca set her own utensil down and looked at the plate; not looking at Chloe as she spoke.

"What do you want?"

She gave her a small smile, even though Beca couldn't see it.

"I asked you first," she said in a teasing tone. When Beca didn't respond other than to nervously run her fingers around the edge of the plate, she decided that playing wasn't the method to use here.

"Ok," she started again, "I like you, Beca. I really like you. I'd like to give this a real shot. If that's something you want too."

Beca finally looked up at her and cleared her throat.

"You should know," she said, "before you ask for this, I've never done, like, a real relationship. I don't even know the first thing about being in one. I'll probably end up disappointing you."

"And I'm sure there'll be times when I disappoint you," Chloe answered and shrugged, "We're just people, Beca. We make mistakes. But if this is something you want, I'm willing to try it out. With you."

Chloe reiterated that the ball was still in Beca's court. She'd noticed last night, several times, that Beca needed prodding to say what she wanted. She waited for Chloe to convince her to say it, to ignore the opposing thoughts or to ask her repeatedly what she wanted. Chloe suspected it was, at least in some part, thanks to whomever it was that put in her head that she couldn't do anything else with her life and matter.

"Beca, what do you want?" she asked directly, "If it's not a relationship, it's ok. We can still work together, still hang out and tears up muffins in that café. Be friends. Just tell me honestly what you want."

Beca remained quiet for a few minutes, causing Chloe to begin panicking a bit internally. She'd talked a fine game about everything being normal, but she knew it would be a struggle for her. She'd keep her promise, but it would be difficult.

After Beca seemed to settle on a thought, Chloe held her breath and waited.

"Could we keep it quiet?" she asked, "While we figure out if we work, I mean, it's not like I'd be ashamed or anything. It's not about you, it's just…I don't want people all about it; dragging you into my mess while we're trying to see how, if, we fit. I'm not exactly the best version of myself when photographers are buzzing around and I don't want that to be the person you're connected to."

Chloe reached over to lay a hand over Beca's, again thinking about how thoughtful she was being.

"Absolutely," she agreed with a smile, "We'll figure it out; slow and quiet."

"In public anyway. 'Cause if last night's any indication, I don't know how quiet you can be."

Chloe laughed and smacked the hand she'd been holding.

"Whose fault is that?" she asked and then leaned in, "Come here."

They shared another kiss, sealing their agreement like a handshake, before Chloe stood up and cleared their plates.

"On that note, is there a back way out of the building?" Beca asked, reluctantly accepting that they did indeed have to go back into the world.

Beca felt her phone buzz as she spoke and took it out, making note of all the missed calls and messages from Angela. No doubt her mother was pissed about her not being at the hotel that morning. Rolling her eyes, she simply put the phone back in her pocket and finished her coffee.

"Yeah," Chloe answered, "go left when you get off the elevator; there's a back parking lot that leads onto the street. I'm going to shower if you want to head out while I'm in there."

Beca nodded, "Sounds good. I'll see you later on set then?"

"Yep," she smiled, "Maybe we can arrive separately for a sneaky late dinner after?"

"It's a date."

"Mm, a date," she grinned happily, "I can't wait."

Beca felt her own smile pull at her own lips and let herself bask in the idea that this could be something special; something just hers that no one else could touch.

She rode the feeling all the way to work, though the building buzz from the pill probably helped.

By the time she got to the studio she was already regretting not taking her own advice and forgetting her obligations as she walked on set into the middle of a loud argument between Gail and John.

"…this shit show!" she heard the director shout at the writer who gasped in response.

"It may be a shit show, but it's _my_ shit show and I refuse to let you disrespect it or my vision for it!"

"Why don't you go have a drink and untwist your panties?"

Gail stomped away from him, her line of retreat bringing her right into Beca's path.

"Hello," she greeted, still clearly frustrated. Beca nodded in response and was set to continue on when Gail spoke again, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Ok."

"What do you think of the story?"

Not expecting the question, Beca just shrugged, "I'm here, aren't I?"

"Yes, but _why_? What about it made you want to do it? The action, the relationships, the characters, the money?"

Beca thought for a moment. It didn't seem like telling her that Angela accepted the offer for her before Beca ever even read the part would go over very well. She thought about the story. Chloe's character searching for her suddenly missing boyfriend and enlisting his sister, Beca's character, into the search and discovering a conspiracy along the way.

The more she thought about it, she acknowledged that it wasn't anything overly original, but it was different that what she'd done yet.

"It's different?" she answered in more of a question than a statement. It felt like a cop out but she didn't know what the woman wanted her to say.

"You think it's good? As it is?"

"Sure, why?"

Gail sighed, "Nothing."

Beca watched her go, confused, and was then surprised to hear Dominique speaking from nearby.

"She's a little stressed," the petite Brit informed.

"Yeah, I got that," she answered sarcastically, "What's that about?"

"Other than our director being a right prick?" somehow the insult still sounded elegant when spoken in her accent, "She's been talking about rewriting the ending and is getting some push back about it."

"Rewrites?" Beca repeated.

"A bit strange, yeah?"

Beca shrugged, pretty indifferent to it all. The job was the job. Whatever they decided, Beca would show up and read the words just the same. Not giving it any further thought, she excused herself to get ready for her scenes.

She entered her trailer with a hanger of her wardrobe for the day, hopefully to get dressed and have a few moments to herself before call time. Closing the door, she turned around and stopped.

"Of course," she said to herself when met with the sight of her mother sitting in her the trailer in a perfected dramatic power pose.

"So you _are_ alive," Angela remarked with a quirk of her eyebrow, "Here I thought you must be dead since you couldn't seem to answer your phone."

"Lucky for your lifestyle, I'm still around to make money," she said as she walked by her and set the hanger on a hook.

"You make me sound so superficial."

"Imagine that," she muttered in reply and pulled her shirt over her head.

Her mother suddenly grabbed her wrist to halt her dressing; Beca hadn't even noticed her approaching.

"Cut the shit, Rebecca," she instructed, using her full name to show she meant business, "This is the second morning in a row you've vanished on me."

"Well that's just not true. I didn't vanish this morning, _Angela_ ," she disagreed, "I vanished last night."

"Oh I see," she said cynically, "So you were out all night with one of you ill-chosen interests. That's just lovely."

Beca laughed, "I wouldn't call her ill-chosen."

"Don't play games with me," she argued, "You were out all night and you have a ten hour day to get through."

Angela reached out and grabbed either of Beca's cheeks, tilting her head side to side while inspecting her.

"What are you- "she stopped when Angela let go of her and started digging in her purse. After a moment, she pulled out an orange bottle and dumped a few pills into her palm.

"Here."

"I already- "

"You were out all night. You know you have to be in top form, not nodding off or hungover and screwing things up for us."

"I- "

"Do it, Beca!" she ordered harshly and before Beca could try to explain, again, that she'd already taken something Angela grabbed her daughter by the back of her neck and forced the pills into her mouth.

Shocked and struggling against the unprecedented act, Beca felt herself swallowing before she could control it. She coughed a few times against the unexpected intrusion to her throat.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Nothing is wrong with me," she snapped back at her, "I'm only looking out for you; for us. I'm the only one looking out for us. Protecting what we've worked so hard for!"

"We?" Beca asked angrily, " _We've_ worked so hard, have we? I didn't realize _we_ were doing all those night shoots or locations in shitty weather or being poked and passed along vultures shoving microphones and cameras in _our_ faces all these years!"

Angela shoved a water bottle roughly against her chest.

"Grow up!" she demanded, "Now get yourself together and do your job."

Beca looked at the bottle a moment, watching how it crinkled under her tightening grip.

"What if I don't want to?" she asked through clenched teeth; opening her eyes see her words land, "What if I don't want to _do my job_ anymore? What if I just walk out of here and never show my face again?"

Angela held her stare with her own cold eyes for a second before her hand darted out and slapped her so quickly Beca heard it land before she felt it.

"Grow up!" Angela snarled; taking a moment to look at the redness blooming on Beca's pale skin, "I'll let make-up know you need a little extra attention today; Lord knows how your late-night exploits lead to little accidents."

Saying no more, Angela left the trailer, finding Jesse standing nearby, having been on the way out of his own trailer when he thought he heard shouting. He looked at the woman.

"Everything ok?"

"Oh yes," Angela answered perfectly, "You've heard how difficult Beca can be."

She gave him a perfect smile and continued on her way, leaving the actor to look back at the trailer a moment before he left as well.

Inside, Beca stared at the door, trying not to think about how Angela's hand had hit right on the spot Chloe had playfully pretended to slap her earlier. She threw the water bottle at the door as hard as she could before dropping into a seat and covering her face with her hands to muffle her long shout.

"Fuck!"

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	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: PG13 rules are for one F word. I put two in here.**

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 **Ch. 9**

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Chloe arrived ready to work and eager to see Beca again even though it had only been a handful of hours since they parted ways that morning. Easily chatting her way through make up and wardrobe and breezing through her scenes with Jesse. She'd never worked with him before but they got along well. She could see why he and Beca were cast as siblings. They had similar dark features. However, kissing him, in character, was as far from kissing Beca as possible.

In the back of her mind, Chloe found herself wishing the story was a bit different; something which would allow to spend the majority of her day kissing Beca instead. That, sadly, wasn't the case but she couldn't complain too much. Jesse was a very nice and professional scene partner and he thoughtfully chomped some mints before their kissing scenes. They had an easy banter between takes and John only yelled at them once, so it was a decent day by Chloe's account.

When the temperamental director was finally pleased with their work, they moved on. Chloe looked around as they took places, searching for where Beca would be waiting for her cue to enter. She didn't see her anywhere nearby but didn't worry. That was, she didn't until Beca's cue came and went with no sign of her still.

"Cut!" John yelled and threw his headphones down, "Where the hell is Mitchell?"

"She went to the trailer earlier," Luke offered from where he was munching at the craft table, "Don't think she's been back yet."

"God damn it, someone get her!"

The PA ran to do as he shouted and Chloe watched him go. Her face must've shown her concern because Jesse lightly touched her arm for her attention.

"She probably just went to blow off some steam and lost track of time. Don't worry."

"Blow off steam? From what?" Chloe asked, "What happened?"

"I'm not completely sure," he answered, "I heard her arguing with her manager earlier and she was acting strange when she was shooting earlier."

"Strange how?"

"Like anxious and twitchy," he explained, "Almost like…you know."

Her brows furrowed together in confusion, unsure what it was that he was implying.

"What?"

He looked at her for a moment, as if trying to decide if she was joking or not. Determining she wasn't, he stepped closer and lowered his voice.

"Like she was on something."

"Drugs?" she whispered in shock and immediately shook her head, "No, I don't believe that."

"Listen, I don't want to be that guy, but," he shrugged, "rumors start for a reason, you know?"

Chloe stared at him, annoyed that he would pay any attention to rumors; especially when she'd seen his name and face plastered in the racks of check-out aisles a time or two.

"I don't pay attention to rumors," she said defensively.

"Hey, don't get me wrong, I like Beca," he said, "I've worked with her before. She's cool. All I'm saying is…. look if a hundred people all say the same thing, it makes sense to maybe believe it."

"A hundred people could tell me the sky is green, I'd still have to see it for myself before I believed them."

He chuckled awkwardly, "I'm sorry, I don't want to fight or anything. You guys are friends."

Before she could respond to that the PA returned, breathlessly announcing that Beca was coming. A few seconds later Beca ambled in, wiping her face and coming to stand off camera and wait. Chloe took the quick opportunity to hurry over to her.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Beca answered quickly and rolled her shoulders, "I fell asleep and forgot to set an alarm. Sorry."

"Ok," Chloe nodded with a soft smile. Happy to hear a logical explanation even as Jesse's words rolled around in her head. She looked Beca over carefully.

"What?"

"Nothing, just," she paused, "I'm looking forward to getting out of here and picking up where we left off."

A spark broke through Beca's eyes at her words.

"You and me, both."

The response was on par with the Beca she'd spent the previous night with and it put Chloe at ease.

"Awesome."

If they were further along in this relationship, if they hadn't agreed to keep things quiet, Chloe would've given her a quick kiss right there. But instead she settled for a wink and went back to her mark.

As the day went on, Chloe's concern reappeared as it became clear Beca was definitely not in her best form. She seemed almost sluggish and a beat behind in her timing and responses. At first Chloe assumed it was a character choice but after John interrupted the scene to yell at them yet again, she suspected that wasn't the case.

"Oh Jesus, cut!" he shouted, "People I know this isn't a masterpiece but give me a damn break! Mitchell, what's your problem? Did you hit your head and flashback to high school theatre?!"

Beca closed her eyes and rubbed her temple and clenched her teeth, "I'll get it."

"Will you?" he asked rhetorically, his face reddening as he got more worked up, "Cause from what I've seen, you couldn't get herpes in a brothel!"

"Fuck off," Beca muttered, not seeing the way Chloe's eyes widened at overhearing her muttered words.

John's face darkened and he jumped out of his chair, stomping over to her.

"What was that?"

Beca opened her eyes and stepped into his challenging space.

"I said. Fuck. Off."

"I don't know who you think you are," he started, "but you do not talk to me like that. You will show me respect or I'll drop you from this train wreck faster than you can say child star."

"Then do it!" Beca exploded, "Drop me. Do it!"

"Ok, that's enough," Gail showed up between them, pushing John back while Chloe pulled Beca's arm the opposite way. The writer looked from one to the other, "Everyone needs to just take a step back and breathe."

"Yeah Mitchell, step back. Step all the way back and keep going until you see the exit sign!"

"I said enough!" Gail glared at him and then looked around at everyone on set, "We're done for today."

"You don't make that call!" John spat at her.

"Well I am. Unless you two can be professional," she told them, looking between him and Beca again.

Beca looked away, clenching her jaw and feeling Chloe's hand start rubbing up and down her arm. She looked into her imploring eyes and let out a sigh.

"I just need a few minutes," she finally relented.

"Why not take all of them?" John started but saw Gail's glare again and he ran a hand down his face, "Just…take the day Mitchell. We'll get back to this tomorrow."

He turned away, facing the silent audience around them and cleared his throat.

"Moving on, let's go!"

Chloe walked beside Beca, moving quickly to keep step with her.

"Beca…" she started softly.

"I'm sorry," she apologized right away and shook her head.

"It's ok. It's ok."

"Uh, meet me at, uh, Angelo's tonight? It's the Italian place on- "

"Yeah, I know it," Chloe nodded quickly.

"Right, um," Beca looked down at her feet, "They have a backroom, discreet, you know? Private. Just, just say you're meeting Anna Cooke. That's the name I use."

Chloe nodded again, "It's nice."

Beca sniffed, trying to keep herself under control until she could get away from everyone, "Yeah, well…I'll see you there? Maybe, nine?"

"On the dot."

"Ok," Beca lingered for an awkward moment and Chloe wondered if she too was thinking about the possibility of a kiss goodbye, as Chloe was. Of course she just put her hands in her pockets, "Bye."

* * *

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Beca was sitting at her table in the private dining area; thankful that LA, being a hub of celebrity, had an abundance of restaurants that had them. She'd come early enough to be ready when Chloe came. _If_ Chloe came.

Sure, she said she would, but that was hours ago, when Beca was standing in front of her. Maybe she just agreed to get Beca to leave. Honestly, she wouldn't blame her for not coming after the way she'd acted. Beca couldn't believe she'd lost her cool like that. Her day started so promising, spending the morning with Chloe, but everything after that had been a pile of trash.

After her argument with Angela and her mother shoving the pills down her throat, Beca was so on edge she could barely focus on one thing at a time. There was a reason she timed what she took and how much. Never too much, never too close together. She'd already taken her usual morning touch shortly before…damn Angela.

It was too much. She knew people could tell something was off during her early scenes. So on her break, she stole away to her trailer and took some downers in hopes of balancing out. Just her luck, she'd ended up passing out instead with her brain working sluggishly when she did get back to set. Of course Chloe wasn't coming.

It was easy to say she wasn't worried about Beca's potential disappointments or failures when they were just talking, when she hadn't been face-to-face with any of it. But now she'd seen just a small sample.

Beca dropped her head into her hands, pressing them into her eyes until she saw sparks, thinking about how quickly she'd ruined the first good thing she'd had in forever.

God, she really was useless.

Stupid.

"Hey."

Beca popped her head up when the voice halted her spiral of thoughts. Chloe was there. She was already standing at the table near the vacant chair as the staffer who led her over went to pull it out for her.

Beca jumped, banging her knees loudly on the table before moving to properly get up.

"I got it," she announced, moving to take his place. The man nodded and stepped back, allowing her to pull out Chloe's chair.

"I'll be back with the wine selection," he told them.

"Thanks," Beca nodded and then reached into her back pocket, "And, uh, we'd appreciate if- "

"Not a word," he assured her and left before Beca could hand him the money she'd intended to. She knew they were genuine about discretion for diners like this, but she still wanted to make sure.

Once he left, Beca sat back down and cleared her throat.

"You came."

Chloe smiled, "Of course. I said I would, didn't I?"

"Well, yeah, but…" she shrugged.

"But nothing," she said, "I have a date with Beca Mitchell, no way I'm missing that."

Beca winced internally and looked at her hands on the tabletop.

"Can you…please don't say it like that."

"Like what?" Chloe's smile dropping.

"Like," she paused, searching for the words. Settling for lifting her hands a bit, fingers spread out, "Beca Mitchell."

Thankfully Chloe seemed to understand and immediately reached over to cover Beca's hand.

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that," she assured, "I just meant, you know, _you_. Not Beca Mitchell, celebrity. Just Beca Mitchell, the girl who makes dumb jokes one minute and makes my heart speed up the next. That's all I meant."

"Sorry," Beca apologized, hating that she'd assumed the worst, "I'm sorry. I'm just all messed up today."

"Hey, it's all right," she smiled, "I know you've had a rough day."

Beca felt herself chuckle, "Yeah, you could say that, huh?"

Chloe squeezed the hand she was holding.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not right now," she squeezed right back, "I don't want to waste our time on any of that. Let's order some wine, have some food, and enjoy our date."

"I sure do like that plan," Chloe smiled, "But for future reference, it wouldn't be a waste of time.

After wine and dinner (and dessert and more wine) they decided they were ready to head out. Beca paid the check, leaving a nice tip as always. They rose to go, but Beca grabbed Chloe's arm before she could leave the private area just yet.

"Just a second," she requested softly. Chloe turned to face her, a question in her eyes, before it could linger too long, Beca spoke.

"Before we go out there, separately and pretending, can I kiss my date?"

"You never have to ask," she smiled and wrapping her arms over her shoulders, "The answer is always yes."

The kiss was slow and soft, Beca slid her hands up Chloe's back and pulling her body to press up against her own.

"Mm," Chloe moaned as they parted and pressed her forehead against Beca's, "Meet me at my apartment?"

Beca nodded, "I'll hang around for a few minutes and then head over. _You_ get nice and comfortable and…ready."

Chloe lifted one eyebrow and smirked.

"Oh I'll be ready," she said placing a kiss to the corner of her mouth, "and willing…and definitely able."

Beca kissed her again, this time with more heat behind it. She felt the desire burn in her gut and groaned as she forced herself to pull away.

"All right," she said reluctantly, "Get out of here. The sooner you go, the sooner I can follow."

Chloe gave her a wink and left with a big smile on her face. Beca watched her go, feeling almost dizzy with the desire to follow her right then and there. She checked the time and sat down at the table with a sigh as she decided how long to wait to not be suspicious.

But as she thought about it, she admitted to herself exactly how much didn't want to wait. She wanted to walk right out beside Chloe, holding her hand all the way. Other people be damned.

She stood by her reasons for keeping it quiet, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She just wanted to go on a date with Chloe, spend time with her, without worrying about who would see and what would be said.

She debated the ups and downs of being open earlier than they intended. Surprising herself at how much she was considering just saying to hell with it and doing what she wanted. She continued going back and forth in her head until enough time had passed. Once it did, she forced herself to walk calmly out of the restaurant.

Using the back entrance for the apartment building, Beca took the stairs so she could run up faster than the elevator would take her. She'd barely finished knocking before the door opened.

Beca froze, her eyes hungrily taking in the sight greeting her. Her hair was now completely down, loose around her face and neck. Wearing a thin robe that lay against her in all the right ways.

Beca swallowed, "You look…"

Chloe didn't wait for her to find the last word; instead just opened the robe, exposing what was underneath. Her eyes dropped to the lingerie hugging Chloe's tanned body like a second skin and her brain stopped working.

Chloe smirked, feeling confident from the effect she had on Beca. She didn't even care that she was standing in her underwear in the open doorway.

"I told you I'd be ready," her words finished with a squeak when Beca suddenly threw herself into her with a passionate kiss.

Her arms wrapped around her waist and Chloe felt herself lifted momentarily as Beca spun them around. Chloe's back hitting the door and shutting it with a slam; closing them back into their own private world.

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	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Been going through it lately. Especially the last few days. Hope you guys like this.**

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 **Ch 10**

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Chloe was pulled from sleep by the sudden pinging sound that forced its way through her dream. She recognized, in her half-sleeping brain, the sound of the text alert from her phone. Her eyes cracked open and she noticed how early it was by the barely present sunlight just beginning to creep through the room. She nearly gave in to the desire to ignore it and fall back into the warmth of the bed and Beca's body beside hers.

She probably would have if the second alert hadn't followed quickly causing Beca to inhale deeply and the arm draped lazily over Chole's stomach tightened; hinting that it was disturbing her own rest.

"Mm," she hears Beca groan.

"It's my phone," Chloe informed her quietly and stretched to reach the device from the nightstand.

Once she detached it from the charger, Chloe glanced at the sleeping woman with a soft smile at how sweet she looked before opening her phone to see what was so damn important.

It was a text from Aubrey. She swore that woman never slept.

' _Were you there when this happened?'_

The text that immediately followed was a link. Curious, she clicked on it which took her to a news article.

' _ **Troubled Star Brings Trouble to Set'**_

Now fully awake, Chloe read the article below. It talked all about Bea and John's argument. An "unnamed source" apparently gave all the juicy details, going so far as to call it a ' _blow up'_ and blaming Beca's _'erratic behavior'_ for nearly shutting down filming for a day.

The whole thing was a hatchet job that painted Beca as some sort of irrational loose cannon.

"Beca," Chloe said at a normal volume now. She nudged her arm, "Beca, look at this."

Beca pressed her face into the pillow, muffling what sounded like muttered curses before lifting her head to squint at Chloe.

"What?"

In any other instance, Chloe would have smiled at the grumpy look on her face. But instead, she just wordlessly held her phone out for her. Beca grabbed it with one hand while rubbing her face with the other. Rolling onto her back, Beca blinked a few times against the light of the screen until her eyes adjusted and began to read. After just a few lines, she gave the phone back.

Chloe was surprised when Beca just settled back onto her side and wrapped her arm around her as if she just planned to go back to sleep. That seemed to be exactly her plan since she snuggled up against Chloe again and closed her eyes.

"Hey," Chloe said before she could relax too much.

"Hmm?"

"Don't you need to call anyone or something?"

Beca rubbed her face against Chloe's shoulder and mumbled.

"Like who?"

"I don't know; your agent or publicist?" she theorized, "Someone who can handle this?"

"There's nothing to handle

"What do you mean? Someone is telling these stories that make you look like some hot-headed unprofessional. You've got to get ahead of this."

"You're so cute," Beca said lightly without opening her eyes.

The apparent dismissal of her concern irked Chloe and she shrugged Beca off of her.

"Don't do that," she snapped and got out of the bed, standing over her, "Don't act like I'm some naïve newcomer who doesn't understand how things work."

Beca groaned loudly and flopped onto her back again.

"I'm not trying to insult you," she said, pushing up into a seated position and draping her elbows over her knees, looking at Chloe, "I'm sorry if it sounded like I was. I didn't mean it."

"Well, what did you mean?" Chloe demanded to know, "Because I'm just worried about how this will effect you and you don't seem to care."

"Because I don't," she said with a sigh. She rubbed her face again and scooted to the edge of the bed to face Chloe. Her voice softer as she spoke again, "I don't care what a stranger says about me on some website. It doesn't matter, Chloe."

She shook her head and sighed, "I don't get how you can not care when it could effect your future work. What if it influences someone's decision to hire you?"

Beca shrugged, "Then I won't have to worry about how I feel doing the job, will I?"

"I'm serious."

"I know," Beca reached out and grabbed both of Chloe's hands, pulling her closer until Chloe stood against the bed in between the open space between Beca's legs. She looked at their joined hands before moving her eyes up to Chloe's, "The reason I don't care what some article says is because it really doesn't matter. I learned a long time ago that people are going to decide who I am. They're going to make me whatever they want in their eyes and worrying about it won't change anything."

"But they don't know you," Chloe said quietly as she brought her hands up to slide Beca's hair away from her face and rest them there.

"If it makes you feel better, I don't know me either."

"Of course that doesn't make me feel better," she answered with a sad smile, "That's terrible."

Beca ran her hands up Chloe's hips.

"Hey," she started, hating that her admission had upset Chloe, "I might not know myself, really, but the closest I've ever felt to knowing is when I'm with you."

She cleared her throat when she saw the smile creep over Chloe's face. Scrunching her eyes shut and dropping her head against Chloe's stomach.

"Shit, that was cheesy," she complained, embarrassed, "That was so cheesy. Pretend I didn't say that."

"No," Chloe argued with a laugh, leaning Beca's head back, "No, baby. It wasn't cheesy, it was sweet," she kissed her forehead, "It was so sweet."

Beca just groaned, making Chloe laugh.

"Hey," Chloe started, "You know, since we're both awake much, _much_ earlier than we need to be…maybe we could-ooh!"

Her words turned into a squeak as Beca grabbed her and spun her onto the bed. She smiled up at Beca hovering over her. This was the Beca that they didn't know. The one that the world never saw or tried to see.

"I'll take that as a yes?"

"That's a hell yes."

* * *

X

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Despite the tabloid hiccup, Chloe took Beca's advice and chose not to worry about it; deciding to just enjoy the Beca she knew. She happily went along as the two fell into a pattern as a couple.

They worked, sometimes together and sometimes with opposite schedules, and did their best to continue their hidden outings together. More often than not, Beca stayed over at Chloe's place instead of going back to her hotel.

A fact that irritated Angela more and more as time went on, continuously blowing up her phone with angry messages and showing up at her trailer to berate her for being irresponsible with "their" life. Beca put up with her rantings, not rising to the occasion since the last confrontation led to her walking off set.

It had been two weeks and she and Chloe had successfully been keeping their relationship secret from any prying or curious eyes. But that wasn't the only thing Beca was keeping secret. Still sneaking her array of pills when Chloe wasn't around.

She hadn't ever cared before if any partners knew or saw it; her only gripe was when they tried to partake without her offering. But with Chloe, she was determined to hide it. Something she might call shame pressed into her chest at the thought of Chloe finding out. There were already a million ways Beca would likely disappoint her; she was desperate to keep it all at bay as long as possible.

The thought passed through her head a few nights ago when they were out together, coming quick as a flash out of nowhere, that maybe she would stop.

Just stop.

No more drinking. No more pills. No more assisted moods or energy.

But the thought left as quickly as it arrived.

It wasn't possible. She knew that.

She wasn't in denial. She was completely aware of her dependency; that she _needed_ it. Otherwise this life would consume whatever pieces of her she'd been able to cling to.

No she could quit. But was she _could_ do was hold on to the one good thing she had as long as possible before it inevitably blew apart.

With that mindset, Beca set out to meet Chloe for dinner as soon as she was done for the day. She walked towards the restaurant with a grin, knowing Chloe was already inside waiting for her. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she read the screen; rolling her eyes when she saw her mother was texting her again.

As she slid it back in her pocket, she felt her shoulder bump against someone while she wasn't watching where she was going and stumbled back a couple steps.

"Sorry, I didn't…Beca?"

She looked up and saw a woman she vaguely recognized but couldn't quite place.

"Uh, yeah. Hi," she responded cautiously, "Yeah, sorry about that I wasn't looking."

"No, it's fine," she dismissed with a smile, "It's awesome to run into you. Literally," she laughed lightly, "It's been a little while. You look as good as I remember."

"Thanks," Beca searched her memory for this woman who clearly knew her, "You, uh, look good, too."

The woman looked her over before crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"You don't remember me, do you?" she asked; not waiting for an answer, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, the last time we saw each other you left me in your hotel without even a goodbye. Just _don't steal the guitar._ "

Beca cleared her throat as she was called out for how she'd treated this woman after they'd apparently spent the night together.

"Listen, I- "

"Don't," she interrupted, "How about you make it up to me now? Let's grab a drink. Whisky, I believe was the go-to?"

Her hands moved forward, fingertips touching Beca's waist, but Beca flinched away as soon as she felt the contact and took a step back.

"I can't. I'm meeting someone. I'm actually running late."

"Someone? Inside?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at the restaurant, then back to Beca, "Like a date?"

"No, just…a friend. Sorry, I've got to go," Beca gave her a wide berth as she moved around her and went to the door. She paused before entering and looked back, "I'm sorry about before. How I treated you; I was an ass."

"You were."

Beca nodded, accepting that the woman wasn't feeling very forgiving, and went inside. She got to the table in the curtained off VIP section, feeling like she could take a breath again when she finally saw Chloe.

Chloe stood to greet her, surprised when Beca swallowed her up in a tight hug; holding on longer than usual.

"Hey," Chloe began, speaking through her surprised chuckle, "What's going on? What's this for?"

Beca leaned back and looked in those bright blues.

"Just…for you."

Chloe smiled, a little overwhelmed by the sincerity on display before her. She rewarded her by leaning in, the two of them sharing a sweet kiss.

Neither aware of the woman peering around the curtain with her phone in hand, or the quiet shutter of its camera.

"Ma'am," a waiter spoke, just as she stepped back from the curtain, "I'm sorry, this is a private area."

"Oh, I was just looking for the bathroom," she covered quickly.

He pointed over her shoulder, "Down that hall."

"Of course, thank you," she gave him a polite smile and walked in that direction.

Once she'd put enough distance that she felt he was no longer paying attention to her, she changed direction and headed for the exit. Stepping into the night air, she opened her phone once more and looked through the pictures, grinning to herself.

"Friend my ass."

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	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: This chapter gave me some trouble but eventually I was pretty happy with it.**

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 **Ch 11**

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Beca sat in the green room, waiting to be called out for her segment. She generally hated the talk show circuit; especially when she had to do them in the middle of filming something else. It stole what little down time she had and lately she actually had something worthwhile to fill that time. Or rather some _one._

But with her last movie premiering and being so well received, it was yet another evil deemed necessary. In this case, evil was absolutely an appropriate term. Alice McKinley was a stone-cold bitch. Every time Beca had done her show, the host tried to 'catch' her with so-called tough questions that veered far off topic of whatever she was there to promote. Thankfully, she didn't care enough to let herself be thrown by any of it.

"Are you listening?"

Beca glanced over at her mother and scoffed.

"Of course not."

"Charming as always, dear," Angela remarked while angrily looking through her bag.

"Let me guess," Beca began, "Stay on guard. Don't take the bait. Bring it all back to the movie," she clicked her tongue, "Think I got it."

"Well forgive me, with your behavior recently I just assumed you've forgotten your priorities," she said before slamming her bag down and shouting loudly at a passing staff member, "You! Find me a phone charger. Chop Chop!"

"Chop Chop," Beca mimicked, earning a glare from the woman, "If you care so much why do you keep booking this shit."

"Exposure, of course."

"Right," she answered as she was signaled to move to the stage entrance, "Time to go expose myself."

She followed the assistant to the curtain and waited for her introduction. Alice's voice carried over to them as she spoke to the audience.

"You've seen my next guess in several movies over the years as well as her regular appearances on TMZ," Beca rolled her eyes behind the curtain, "You can catch her latest work _Shadows_ in theatres now. Please welcome, Beca Mitchell!"

The audience applauded and cheered as music started playing. For her own pleasure, Beca waited a moment longer than necessary, watching the assistant's gesturing for her to go become more frantic. Before he could start sweating, she had mercy on him and stepped out. She gave a small smile and raised her hand to the audience before taking her seat on stage.

* * *

X

* * *

Chloe sat in her trailer, watching the television to catch Beca's segment. She knew she wasn't looking forward to it and Chloe had promised to watch for moral support. Her attention was disrupted when her phone began ringing and Aubrey's name appeared on the screen. She only felt a little guilty as she sent it to voicemail to focus on the interview.

Apparently, whatever it was, was important enough for Aubrey to call back again immediately. She took a moment to send a quick text, informing her manager that she'd call her back in a few minutes, and focused back on the screen. She groaned when she started hearing a flurry of messages coming in return. The alerts pinging repeatedly as she tried to listen. She blindly turned off the sound and was finally able to completely focus just in time to hear Alice bring up a topic she knew would annoy Beca.

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X

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"Now you're pretty private when it comes to your personal life."

Beca just shrugged with one shoulder, "It's personal, after all."

"Even so, rumors swirl around you all the time and you never offer any comment or response."

Beca smirked, "If I comment on every rumor, I wouldn't have much time to do anything else. Like _Shadows_."

The audience clapped at that, and she saw the annoyance in Alice's eyes at her attempt to keep them on track.

"Well, that is true, but I wonder if you'll indulge us today."

Beca barely managed to keep her eyes from rolling once again. Instead, she noticed something like a glint in the woman's eyes that gave away the fact that, whatever she thought she had on Beca, she was confident that she had a winner.

"I'm just going to show you something and I'd love to get just a few words from you about it."

Before Beca could respond the audience erupted in hoots and whistles and applause.

* * *

X

* * *

Chloe's eyes widened and she nearly fell out off her chair as the image came up on the large screen behind the seats.

She recognized what it was right away though she had no idea where it came from. It was a photo. Her and Beca at dinner the night before. When they thought they were alone.

Kissing.

She barely registered a shout coming from outside the trailer before her door opened with a bang and Aubrey stood before her.

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X

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Once the crowd calmed down enough, Alice spoke again.

"Now, if I'm not mistaken, that's Chloe Beale. And that's you."

Beca clenched her hand into a fist, running her thumb over the first knuckle. Alice smiled that damn smile.

"Any comment?"

Beca glared at her a moment before taking a breath.

"More of a question, actually," she said tightly.

"Oh, I'd love to hear it."

Setting her eyes directly into hers, Beca asked, "Is divorce easier the third time or is this one just as ugly as the last two?"

She gave herself a moment to see the shock on Alice's face turn into anger before she stood from her chair. Removing the mic-pack from her shirt and waist, Beca dropped it onto her chair.

Knowing her words wouldn't be heard by anyone in attendance she spoke to the stewing host, "Go fuck yourself," and walked off stage.

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X

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Chloe turned off the television, feeling almost robotic in her movements from the shock of what just happened. She swallowed in an attempt to compose herself and finally gave Aubrey her full attention.

"How long has this been going on?"

"Aubrey- "

"That picture hit the internet, like, twenty minutes ago. As soon as I got out of a meeting, my phone was blowing up and I called you immediately. That snake of a woman had time to add it on her show. It's already blasting all over social media. All these people, talking about it the _second_ they found out. So why have you been unable to tell me at any time during however long this has been happening?"

Chloe took a breath.

"Beca and I…" she started, "we were keeping it quiet until we knew what it was. You know, how we worked."

"That's all well and good, Chloe. You should keep these things quiet in the beginning…from the public! You keep it hidden from the paparazzi and the media, _not_ from me!" she argued, "You need to tell me things like this so I can have a plan for when it comes out. Especially if you're involved with _Beca Mitchell_ of all people."

The way she spat Beca's name straightened her spine and she automatically felt defensive on her behalf.

"I know you don't like her, but- "

Aubrey interrupted with a scoff.

"It's not about me not liking her. I'm not thinking about my personal feelings right now, Chloe. I'm thinking about you, damn it! What being attached to her and her reputation will do to you. I know you don't like to think about this stuff and God knows Beca doesn't care how this could affect you, she's just glad to be getting some."

"Stop it," Chloe cut in sharply; "That's enough. You can be pissed at me for not telling you; that's fair. But you don't know anything about her."

"I know enough," Aubrey challenged, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Really?" she asked, "I bet you don't know that she didn't want to pursue anything between us because she thinks I'm too good for her. You don't know that it was her idea to keep it secret because she's worried about exactly the same thing you are. That it would hit me negatively to be connected to her. If it weren't for her, I'd have kissed her in the middle of the street without a second thought. You don't know that our first night together, _I_ kissed _her_. I practically threw myself at her and she asked me over and over if I was sure."

She paused and took a breath as she felt herself getting worked up and tried to calm down.

"You _don't_ know her, Aubrey," she emphasized once more, "No one does. She's so sweet and caring and funny. God, she's always got some dumb joke or silly thought ready to go when I need to cheer up. She's teaching me guitar and tries to make breakfast even though she could burn water," she grabbed Aubrey's hands in her own as she passionately spoke, "She's _good_ to me, Bree. And she's good _for_ me."

Aubrey's mouth opened and closed a few times.

"Jesus, Chloe," she began, "you're talking like you're in love with her."

Chloe blinked at the words; not expecting them. Lifting her chin, she spoke proudly.

"Maybe I am."

Her phone began buzzing again before Aubrey could respond to the second bombshell of her day.

"Hi," Chloe greeted, the sideways look she gave Aubrey as she turned away from her told her exactly who it was, "Yeah, I saw it. Are you ok?"

Aubrey put her hands on her hips and looked at the floor for a moment. She took a breath and put her manager identity back on. She took a step forward and took the phone from Chloe, in the middle of her sentence, ignoring her friend and client's protest.

"Beca Mitchell, this is Aubrey Posen, Chloe's manager," she began right away. She held up a hand and gave Chloe a nod to tell her it was ok, "We need to talk. All of us."

A time was set for the couple and their respective management to meet and go over the next step. Settling on meeting at Aubrey's office as apparently there were already floods of paparazzi stalking them. Aubrey and Chloe arrived first and were already inside waiting. The blonde's phone continued ringing and pinging the entire time with people wanting comments and confirmation.

The constant barrage of noise wasn't helping Chloe's nerves as she waited for Beca to arrive. The second the door opened Chloe rushed over to meet Beca first. She wrapped her arms around her and felt her return the embrace after a moment.

"Are you ok?" she asked again, "I can't believe she did that to you."

"I'm ok," Beca answered quietly, rubbing her hands up and down Chloe's arms as she pulled back, "I'm ok."

"As touching as this is," Angela appeared in the doorway and pushed herself between he two to walk inside, "We have business to discuss."

Beca cleared her throat awkwardly and followed further into the room. Aubrey rose from behind her desk and offered her hand to the older woman.

"Aubrey Posen."

Looking at the hand a moment, as if considering whether she would take it, before finally doing so.

"Angela Bennett," she replied, "I assume you know Beca."

Aubrey looked over to the mentioned woman, "Who doesn't?"

Beca set her jaw as she met Aubrey's eyes with her own; all to used to the sort of implication in her tone.

"So," Angela spoke again, "That daytime mouthpiece's tactics aside, I think the big issue with this little revelation is that this has been happening behind our backs. Is that right Miss Posen? I don't know about you, but I certainly had a conversation about that fact with my client."

Aubrey looked over towards Chloe who was looking worriedly at Beca; the other woman appearing even more guarded than usual at those words. Recalling their previous conversation, she spoke.

"Well, I know there were reasons for deciding to keep us in the dark," she answered diplomatically, "Still, what's done is done. Please have a seat."

Everyone did so, Chloe and Beca beside each other on the small couch while Aubrey and Angela were in adjacent chairs. Aubrey didn't miss the way the, apparent, couple instantly entwined their hands together between them. Though Beca's face remained stoic, Chloe wore her concern for any to see.

"The most important question before us is: how do we respond?" Aubrey began, taking the lead, "I think a joint statement from both camps is the best move. We can hardly play this off as a misunderstanding; the photo made it all too clear what's going on. I've taken the liberty of drafting something for your approval."

She gave over the page she'd brought form her desk for the other woman to read through. Angela looked it over quickly and quirked her eyebrow.

"Milquetoast as it is," she critiqued, and returned it to Aubrey, "It'll do."

"Right, now next I was thinking- "

"Don't suppose we could see that," Beca remarked from the couch, "I mean, considering it's about us."

"Really, Beca- "Angela started at the same time Aubrey said, "Of course."

The two locked eyes for a second. The power struggle hung in the air between the two until Chloe decided to break the tension.

"I read it already," she informed the room and looked at Beca, "It's only right you get to, too."

Aubrey agreed and passed the paper over while keeping her eyes on Angela the whole time. The woman clearly was used to having the power in the room and was challenging to keep it.

Beca took the sheet and looked at the words. Though she appeared outwardly calm, inside she was a ball of nerves as well. After being blindsided on the show and the earful her mother had given her afterwards, her mind was swirling. Adding to that all her initial concerns with going public were once again at the forefront of her thoughts.

All of this together caused the type on the page to jumble as she tried to read it. She pinched the tips of her fingers into the bridge of her nose, scrunching her eyes for a moment to try to gain her focus. She heard the loud sigh from her mother and knew she was making a show of her impatience.

Chloe's hand resting her thigh and gave it a comforting squeeze. She took a breath and decided it probably wasn't important that she actually read it. Chloe had seen it and approved. She trusted Chloe, so she just gave the paper back.

"It's fine."

Aubrey took it back, curious about what had just happened but decided to move on.

"As I was saying," she began again, "I think we should arrange some appearances. Nothing over the top; maybe the two of you at lunch somewhere we know you'll be seen. You know, lean into the fact that this isn't some stunt. It's a relationship."

"You want us to stage dates?" Beca asked; clearly unhappy with the idea.

"Not necessarily," she answered, "Just go on dates, like you have been. Except do a few in some hotspots."

Angela scoffed at this; earning a glare from Aubrey.

"You disagree?"

"I'm just amused at how blatant you're being with your motives."

"Excuse me?"

"You sure are quick to label this a relationship for anyone who will gobble it up. Who says this isn't just some tryst between co-stars?"

"I do," Chloe spoke up quickly, then glanced at Beca, "We both do."

Angela rolled her eyes at the young star.

"Please," she responded, looking only at Aubrey, "This is obviously a ploy to make sure your little ingenue gets some of Beca's clout by being attached to her. You're using her to advance your worth."

"What?!"

"I'm not- "

Chloe and Aubrey argued at the same time.

"Ms. Bennett, I'm not using Beca like that. I'd never," she turned completely to Beca, "I'd never do that to you."

Beca nodded and took her hand once more, to show she believed her.

"If you ask me, being publicly attached to your client won't help Chloe at all," Aubrey spat back, "If anything this will hurt her image."

"Aubrey!" Chloe said, shocked that she would say that in front of Beca; after the talk they'd had, too."

"Spare me," Angela challenged, "Beca has longevity and it's clear you're trying to make sure your precious princess of the moment isn't some flash in the pan sensation. You two probably planned this whole thing the second you knew they'd be working together."

"That's enough," Beca snapped out and stood up quickly. She glared at her mother, "I don't care what you think, I can't stop any of that, but whether you like it or not, we're together. That goes for both of you. I'm with her; she's with me. You don't have to like it, but sure as shit better respect it."

She turned to leave, feeling Chloe stand and come up behind her. She opened the door and turned back to both of them.

"There's your statement."

She stormed out, the blood pounding in her ears, blocking the sound of Chloe's quick footsteps following her. She stopped only once she tried to leave the building and was assaulted by the sudden chaos of voices and cameras the second the door opened. She immediately stepped back and moved to lean against the wall. Propping her hands on her knees, she bent over and tried to calm down.

"Damn it," she hissed to herself.

"Hey, hey," Chloe began, setting her hands on either side of her face and lifting enough to look into her eyes, "It's ok, babe. It's ok. Talk to me. How can I help?"

Beca sniffed and stood up straight, running her hand over her face.

"I just…it's out there now," she said, "It's the one thing, the one thing that was mine; ours. Now it's out there and they're gonna take it. They're gonna dissect it and talk about it and twist it. With their opinions and rumors. Like it's theirs. They're gonna take it."

Chloe wrapped her arms around Beca and pulled her close. She swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Listen to me," she instructed and pressed a quick kiss to the side of her head, "This _is_ ours," she took Beca's hand in both of hers and pressed it against her chest directly over her heart, "Feel this? _This_ is _yours._ And no one can take it from you. _No one_. So, let them say whatever they want. Because a wise woman once told me that it doesn't matter. They can try their best, but I'm not letting them take a single piece. You hear me?"

Beca's eyes closed slowly, "It could get ugly. I don't want you to be hurt somehow."

"Good thing I got you to protect me then, isn't it?" she teased; relieved when she saw a small twitch in the corner of Beca's lips.

She squeezed the hand still against her heart.

"If you ever doubt or worry, just feel this and remember what I said."

Beca nodded and placed a quick kiss to her lips. She took a breath and looked at the door.

"You ready for this?"

Chloe tangled their fingers together and made a show of moving to stand at her side.

"Bring it on."

"Just so you know," Beca started and tapped her palm against her own heart, "It's yours, too."

Chloe smiled wide and pulled their held hands up to press a kiss against the back of Beca's.

"Let's do this Mitchell."

Beca slid her sunglasses on with a smirk.

"Yes ma'am."

She opened the door and they walked into the madness hand in hand.

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	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Just popping in a quick note to say that I got a review that just blew my mind. It was from a guest so I can't respond privately. I just want whoever that person was to know that your review made my day and I read it over and over and over. Thank you.**

 **Ch 12**

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The first few days after the news broke about the newest Hollywood couple were interesting to say the least. Chloe found herself with double the paparazzi than she'd gotten used to. There were always at least three photographers outside her apartment building. They'd even found the back entrance that Beca used and started camping there as well, much to Beca's extreme annoyance.

Going to work was no different. Every time she stepped foot on set after it was out there, it felt like every eye was permanently on her. Not to mention the looks and whispers that came whenever she and Beca were within ten feet of each other. What bothered her most was that none of them would just man up and just ask her about it or say whatever was on their mind about it.

The tension it caused Beca was flying out of her from every pore. She wanted to comfort her with something as simple as a hand on her arm, or God forbid a kiss, but was wary of drawing more attention to them.

On top of everyone else's behavior, John seemed to take this as an excuse to be even more of an asshole during takes; being extra critical, especially of Chloe's performance.

After the eleventh time of him halting the same attempt at a scene, demanding to know if she'd ever been on a real set in her life, the others let out audible groans and sighs of frustration. Chloe turned away from them all; looking down and taking a deep breath while shaking her hands out to try and keep from losing it in front of everyone.

She heard footsteps quickly approaching from behind and before she could turn to apologize to whoever it was, she felt Beca's hands – and she instantly knew they were Beca's – on her cheeks. She lifted Chloe's face to hers and covered her lips with her own. It was soft and strong simultaneously, only lasting a few seconds before Beca pulled back and touched their foreheads together.

"Ok?" she whispered.

Chloe nodded, unable to wrap her head around the fact that Beca had just done that. The most private person she'd ever met, Beca, had just kissed her in front of everybody. With Chloe's simple response, Beca ran a hand over her head in one more gesture of comfort before standing straight and facing the rest of the room.

"Anybody have something to say?" she challenged and looked from face to face, daring anyone to say something. When no one did, she nodded once, "Good. Let's get this shit done."

John's jaw clenched a moment before everyone got back to work. When they were finally done for the day, Chloe didn't think anything of grabbing Beca's hand in hers as they left.

"Thank you for what you did in there," she said as they walked through the parking lot.

"It was nothing," she dismissed with a shrug.

"No, I know how much you hate people in your personal business. That couldn't have been easy for you."

"Honestly?" Beca said, pausing their steps and facing her, "For you, it as the easiest thing I've ever done."

Chloe grinned at the blush deepening Beca's cheeks as she said so. She tapped her finger to the tip of Beca's nose.

"So cheesy," she winked.

"Yeah, well," she shrugged again.

Chloe wrinkled her nose before stealing a kiss. This one lasting longer than the one Beca had given her a few hours ago. As they were basking in the taste of one another, an obnoxiously loud throat clearing stole their attention. Beca looked back over her shoulder and saw Angela standing beside a running car.

"Of course," she muttered as she dropped her head. Lifting it back up, she turned around completely, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, is that how you greet me now?"

Chloe looked from one to the other and wondered about the obvious tension between them. She'd noticed it the last time she'd been in a room with both of them, back at Aubrey's office. She couldn't help but be curious about why Beca kept the woman around since she clearly didn't care for her very much. And honestly, Chloe felt the same after seeing how the woman treated Beca.

When Beca didn't respond to the question, Angela just tilted her head towards the waiting car behind her.

"Get in the car, Beca."

But Beca just grabbed Chloe's hand at her side and smirked, "I've got plans."

Angela's eyes zeroed in on their joined hands; something in her face ticking momentarily at the sight.

"Not tonight," she declared and then repeated herself in a sharper tone, "Get in the car."

Beca looked to Chloe and for a moment she thought Beca was about to tell her goodnight and leave. However, she only quietly requested, "Give me a couple minutes?"

"Yeah. I'll go get the car," she nodded and Beca gave her another quick kiss before they parted. Chloe kept her eyes on Angela as she walked off until she couldn't anymore. For some reason not feeling great about leaving the women alone.

Beca watched her go and ran a hand through her hair as she approached her mother.

"What?" she asked, holding her arms out, "What do you want?"

"What I've always wanted," she answered, "To protect you; your future. A future you've rapidly been losing sight of because of that…girl."

Beca scoffed, "My ass."

"Don't be crude."

"The only think you've ever wanted to protect is your bank account."

Angela didn't let her surprise show at the directness of the statement. Instead she just chuckled and shook her head, "Beca- "

"No, stop it. Stop acting like I'm stupid," Beca snapped, "You think I don't know? You think I actually believe you've been looking out for me all these years?"

She took a step closer, wondering where her brazenness was coming from but not upset about it either. It felt good to finally pop her bubble.

"I figured you out a long time ago _Angela_ ," she spat, "For a while I thought you actually cared; that you were doing all of this for us. But I can tell you the exact moment I realized the truth. That this has all, always, been for you. Do you want to know when it was? Hm? You want to know when I figured out you were using me for your own selfish shit?"

Angela just stared at her until Beca continued.

"I'll give you a hint," she started, "I was fourteen."

"Beca- "

"Fourteen!" she shouted, her fists clenching at her sides as her eyes blurred, "You bought me that red dress, remember? I felt so special," she laughed a watery, humorless laugh, "Because you got me a stupid dress and told me how pretty I was. Do you remember that? Do you remember how happy I was? You said we were going to an important meeting. And I stood there, proud as an idiot, because you never brought me to any of your meetings. We rode in the nicest car I'd ever seen to a fancy hotel."

She saw her visibly swallow.

"Yeah, you remember," she stated sharply.

"I don't have time for this," she dismissed and opened the car door to leave.

But Beca wouldn't let her leave without finishing; she couldn't. She darted forward and slammed the door shut; nearly catching her fingers in it. Standing close, she continued to recall the memory.

"The whole ride over you were telling me how important it was. You _kept_ telling me you needed me to be a big girl."

"Stop this. We'll talk when you've- "

"Be a big girl tonight, Beca," she said, her face centimeters from her mother's as she felt her breath catch in her throat and choked through her words, "Be a big girl and do what he says. You took me to that room, and you left me there. You _left_ and- "

Her words finally halted when Angela's hands found her shoulders and shoved her back hard enough Beca stumbled a few steps. They stared at each other, Beca breathing heavy from the emotion she'd brought up.

"You remember."

Angela looked away from her as she fixed her hair and readjusted her blouse and her composure. Clearing her throat, she spoke.

"When you're ready to be smart about things again," she began and stiffly pulled out a small bottle from her purse, "When you remember who gets you what you need," she shook the bottle to rattle the pills inside, "I'll be ready to hear your apology for this behavior."

Beca glared at her as Chloe pulled the car up and idled it nearby.

"Fuck your pills. Fuck your pretty dresses," she shook her head and said in a voice laced with resignation, "And fuck you."

With that said, she turned and headed towards Chloe's car. Hearing Angela's voice come from behind her as she did.

"You need me, Beca. You're nothing without me," Beca felt her shoulders begin to curl inward under her words, "Don't worry. I'll be waiting."

Beca threw herself into the car and slammed the door, causing Chloe's concern to magnify.

"Are you all right?" she askes softly, reaching over to lay her hand on Beca's leg as she sat with her head in her hands.

"Just take me home, please."

"Oh," Chloe voiced in surprise, but tried not to let her disappointment show, "Home like your hotel?"

Beca shook her head and finally looked over at her.

"No. _Home._ "

Chloe gave her a sad smile; reading how upset and exhausted she was. It was a polar opposite to the Beca she'd walked away from just minutes ago. Whatever happened between them while she was gone must have been rough.

"Ok," she said gently, "Let's go home."

Chloe drove them to her apartment, a part of her jumping for joy that Beca had called it home. A larger part, however, knew this wasn't the time to acknowledge that. They walked by the men waiting with their cameras, this time, Chloe was the one telling them to back off. Not as colorfully as Beca would, she merely declared, _'Not tonight. Not now.'_ as she protectively walked Beca to the door.

Once they were inside, Chloe watched Beca carefully. She moved almost robotically through the living room, removing pieces of clothing as she did so. Chloe followed the trail comprised of her jacket, boots, bracelets, and shirt until she was in the bedroom with her.

She didn't bother turning on the light either as Beca slid out of her jeans and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. She just walked over to join her, but instead of sitting beside her, Chloe lowered to her knees on the floor in front of her. She slid her hands over her bare things.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Beca just shook her head and the two remained silent for a while. Chloe content for now to just be a presence for her. The silence stretched on, doing nothing for Chloe's worry, until Beca opened her mouth.

After a few false starts, her words finally came.

"Can we just go to bed?" she asked and then struggled to clarify, "Not to…can we just…would you…?"

Chloe recognized Beca's still remaining issue with just saying what she wanted, or in this case, what she needed.

Wordlessly, Chloe stood up and quickly removed her clothing down to her underwear. She circled the bed and got in, pulling down the other half of the covers after she was laying down. Lifting her arm, she simply answered.

"Come here."

Beca did so. Climbing in and immediately pressing her body flush against Chloe's. Letting her arms wrap around her as she continued to pull herself as close to her as she could. When she finally accepted that she couldn't get any closer, Beca buried her face into Chloe's neck and let herself breathe.

Chloe didn't know what happened, but she held on as tightly as she could, sensing how much Beca needed it. Swallowing her own emotions, she pressed a kiss to the side of her head as she held her.

"I've got you," she told her passionately, "I've got you."

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	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Man, you guys had quite the response to the last chapter! Thank you for all your GREAT reviews. I started this about 2 years ago (whoa has it been that long?) before things like METOO and TIMESUP came to light and a whole lot of these awful secret happenings started coming to light. Because of the state of that, I debated whether to include this plot point for Beca because I didn't want it to look like I was trying to capitalize on the awful reality. But really it was planned from the beginning and is an important detail of the rest of the story, so I decided to keep it. I will do all I can to handle it delicately. Thank you guys for sticking with this and me.**

 **Also, this is long but that's…good? Warning for language and alcohol and basically just references to everything that's already been all over this fic so maybe I should've put the warning in several chapters ago.**

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 **Ch 13**

A loud gasp escaped Beca as she shot awake in bed. She felt the sweat sticking to her skin as her heart hammered away in her chest. She sat up in bed and tried to calm her heavy breathing while the remnants of the nightmare knocked around inside her head. No, not nightmare; not really. More like amplified memories.

Beside her, Chloe sat up as well and immediately moved up beside her. Running her hand up and down Beca's back, she felt the tank top clinging to her curved spine.

"Hey," she whispered, "Nightmare?"

Beca just nodded before hanging her head and running her hands through her hair.

"That's three nights in a row," she noted, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Beca shook her head, "It's just a dream. It doesn't matter."

Chloe watched her throw the blankets back and get out of bed. She disappeared into the bathroom and Chloe sighed loudly. She hated not being able to help. It didn't escape her notice that, even though Beca refused to talk about what was bothering her, these nightmares began after Angela had shown up in the parking lot. Whatever happened between them, it had more of an effect on her than she was letting on.

She couldn't continue to let her suffer silently like this. She had to get her to talk. So, she sat up straight and waited for Beca to return.

In the bathroom, Beca splashed cold water on her face with shaking hands. When she'd done it a few times, she braced her hands on the counter and looked at the mirror. She stared at the pale face looking back at her and clenched her jaw tight.

"Get your shit together," she whispered harshly to herself, and pressed her forehead against the glass, "Get it together."

Why was it coming back now? It had been so many years. She thought she'd put it behind her. Damn her mother for making her bring it up. For holding her coping tool hostage like a selfish criminal. As if it had been waiting for the cue, her head started pounding behind her eyes and her stomach churned. She bit back a groan, not wanting Chloe to overhear.

On that note, she knew she couldn't hide in there for much longer without causing even more suspicion from her clearly concerned girlfriend. Reaching over, she hit the handle on the toilet, allowing the flush to sound through the small room and give Chloe the illusion that nothing strange was going on.

She opened the medicine cabinet and dry swallowed a few aspirin, hoping to take some of the edge off at least long enough to maybe get some more sleep. Taking one more look at her reflection, she wiped her face and practiced a believable face that said everything was fine before heading back into the room, hoping Chloe had gone back to sleep.

She wasn't.

"Sorry I woke you," she apologized when she saw her still sitting in the same spot she'd left her in. She climbed back into bed beside her and gave her cheek a kiss before moving to lay back down.

"Beca," Chloe started when she saw she was just going to sleep without acknowledging anything, "Babe, I think we should talk."

Beca's eyes popped open at the words. Suddenly terrified by the implication in them. Wasn't that what people said before something serious happened? Like a breakup? Was Chloe already tired of putting up with her? She couldn't blame her. On top of everything, now she couldn't even sleep through the night without Beca waking her up.

Nervously, she sat up and faced her, "Ok."

Chloe took Beca's hand in hers and carefully began, "You've been having these nightmares all week."

"I'm sorry. I'll sleep on the couch tonight and…I don't have to spend the night anymore. I'm sorry."

"No, that's," she shook her head, "I'm not telling you to leave. I'm not blaming you for your dreams. You can't control them. I just think…you keep having them; ever since that night in the parking lot."

She felt Beca tense under her hand and look away.

"What happened while I was gone?"

"Nothing, we talked. That's all," she dismissed, "It doesn't have anything to do with this."

"I think it does," Chloe scooted closer, "I think you might need to talk about it."

"There's nothing to talk about," she argued, "They're just dreams."

"Beca," she sighed, "I just want to help you. Talk to me."

Running her hands down her face roughly, she glanced down at her grasshopper tattoo; barely visible thanks to the glow of the streetlights outside.

"She's my mother," she confessed without looking away from it.

"What?"

"That woman, she's not my manager. Well, not _just_ my manager," she clarified, "She's my mother."

"Oh," this information would've been surprising enough on its own but was made doubly so by seeing how the woman treated Beca when they were together, "I didn't know."

"Yeah, that's the point. She uses her maiden name. God forbid anyone realizes how old she is," Beca said sarcastically, "There's a few people who know. Reporters who found out, but it's not really newsworthy enough for them to care about."

Chloe realized what else she was saying with this admission. Whatever argument she'd had while alone with her, it wasn't simply an argument with her manager; it was an argument with her mother.

"So, yeah," Beca continued awkwardly. Deciding that giving that information allowed the benefit of sharing something with Chloe while not divulging everything, "Maybe I have that on my mind, I guess."

"How can I help?"

Beca turned on the mattress so she was facing her and slid some of Chloe's still sleep tossed hair behind her ear.

"Just keep being you," she said. She saw the smile Chloe gave her and scoffed, "Damn, you keep bringing the cheesiest things out of me."

"Aw, I love your cheese though."

"Do you now?"

"Mmm," she hummed and leaned in for a kiss. After sharing one, Chloe pulled them both to lay down again. She wrapped her arms around Beca and held her close, kissing her neck once and whispering, "You can always talk to me. I'm always going to be here to listen, even if listening is all you need me to do."

"Yeah, I know," she paused and impulsively decided to go for it, "and I love…that about you," she chickened out; then bit her lip and waited, wondering if Chloe caught on to what nearly happened.

Nothing came, not verbally, Chloe's arms just tightened around her.

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They had that weekend off from filming and Beca was glad to take advantage and just stay in with Chloe. She was sitting on the couch, strumming her guitar that she'd taken to keeping at Chloe's for their lessons.

"What do you think?" Chloe's question came suddenly as she jumped onto the couch beside her and held her phone out for Beca to see.

Beca stopped playing and looked up. On the screen was a black and white photo of their hands tangled together. It was one of several Aubrey had taken while they were out. Once Chloe had made triple sure that it was ok with Beca to post her own confirmation of their relationship, she'd decided she wanted something candid for her Instagram. Beca had told her repeatedly that she didn't need to ask permission because she trusted her to know the sort of thing she wouldn't want posted.

She made it clear she didn't want to keep Chloe from doing anything she wanted. Sure, Beca wasn't on social media for her reasons, but Chloe enjoyed it and, again, Beca trusted her.

Looking over the photo she smirked in amusement when she read the font typed over the image of their hands.

' _I'm with her. She's with me. You don't have to like it, but you sure as shit better respect it.'_

The caption added beneath the photo simply read: _'What she said.'_

Beca looked back up to Chloe, still smirking.

"Quite the wordsmith."

Chloe smiled brightly, "You like? Should I post it?"

"Whatever you want, Chloe," she reminded her, "You don't need my approval."

"Doesn't mean I don't' want it," she answered and then hit the button to post with a dramatic flourish, "And done."

Beca chuckled, enjoying how happy it made Chloe to do so, "Give me a warning if people are gonna start using one of those name mashups about us."

"Oh babe, they're definitely going to," she chuckled, "The only question is, what will it be?"

"Bitchell," Beca suggested and started strumming again when Chloe laughed; settling in again her.

After a little while resting against her shoulder, not bothered by the movements Beca made as her hand moved on the neck of the instrument, Chloe closed her eyes.

"That's pretty," she commented on the music, "What is it?"

"Nothing really," she answered, "Just something I've been playing around with. Kind of popped in my head the other day."

Chloe's eyes opened and she sat up quickly, causing Beca to stop in surprise.

"What's up?"

"You came up with that?"

"I guess?" she answered with a shrug, "I mean, unless it's something that's already out there. I don't know every some or anything? You recognize it or something?"

"No, it's just…it's good, Beca. Like, it's really good."

"Oh," she sounded surprised at the compliment, "I mean it's just a little tune. I think it'd probably sound better on piano, honestly, but we don't have one of those lying around."

"Beca," she began somewhat cautious of the idea she was about to suggest, "Have you ever thought about…music?" At the questioning look she received, Chloe elaborated, "Doing music, I mean. Writing it. Performing it."

Beca laughed through her response, "What?"

"I'm serious," she defended the thought, sitting up and tucking her legs under her as she got more excited the more she thought about it, "I've heard you sing. You play beautifully. Clearly you can come up with original music."

"Chloe," Beca shook her head good-naturedly.

"And most importantly, you always seem, I don't know, peacefully whenever I see you play," she spoke seriously and grabbed Beca's hands, "Think about it, you don't enjoy what you're doing now. _This_ could make you happy. What if you could actually enjoy your work? I mean, why not?"

Beca set the guitar aside.

"You're sweet Chloe," she said, "and it's a nice idea but it's not realistic."

"Why not?"

"First of all, I don't come up with songs. It's just a little melody to tinker with."

"That's how songs start, isn't it?"

"Ok, well how about I've never written lyrics in my life. You know I'm no good with words."

"So, you don't write lyrics. You can compose or make arrangements for things or artists," she continued to have an answer for each of Beca's arguments, "Besides, how do you know you can't writ if you've never tried. I bet you'd totally kill it if you gave yourself the chance."

Beca grinned at Chloe's unfiltered belief in her. She leaned in while chuckling and gave her a quick kiss.

"I love you," she said when they parted before standing up and heading into the kitchen.

Chloe watched her leave, sitting in shock for a moment before snapping out of it. Coming back to Earth, she quickly got up and followed after Beca. She entered the kitchen just as Beca was opening a beer.

"Wait a second," she started, "Did you just…you can't do that."

"Do what?" Beca asked, playing dumb as she focused on her bottle's label.

"You can't say you love me like that and then leave the room."

"What kind of glue do you think they use on glass bottles like this? It's like a 50/50 shot it'll come off clean or just make a mess."

"Beca," she said with a sigh.

"Ok, yeah, I said it," she acknowledged and let out a loud exhale.

"All right, but, I mean, people don't usually run off after saying it," she said with a nervous laugh.

Beca took a moment kept her eyes on the bottle as she started anxiously picking at the paper there, "Truth is I… I don't know how or when you're supposed to say it, but I've wanted to and I just, I figured I'd just say it so it's said and you know. I guess it was like, I'll say it and then give you a minute to yourself. That way you don't have to worry about reacting a certain way and if you wanted, we could just move on like nothing happened."

She took a breath once she finished; only just realized she hadn't that whole time. She didn't see as -Chloe moved around the island and stepped into Beca's space.

"There's a problem with your plan there," she noted, tapping Beca's jaw to get her to look up at her, "You didn't give me a chance to say it back."

"You don't have- "her words were silenced by Chloe's lips on her own. Slower and softer than the quick one they'd shared on the couch. When they separated, Chloe remained close.

"I love you, Beca," she smiled, "You big dummy."

Beca shrugged, "Well, I never went to college so…"

Chloe laughed and smacked her shoulder, "Shut up."

The ringing of Chloe's phone came next, shutting down whatever they might have done to celebrate the words shared between them. She groaned loudly and ran a thumb over Beca's lips.

"Hold that thought."

Beca made a show of reaching out in the air and closing her fist around nothing, "Got it right here."

"Dork," Chloe teased before hurrying to the living room to answer the call.

Beca watched her leave with a smile on her face. She was a dork when it came to that girl. And she was starting to care less and less about it. Taking another sip of her beer, she heard Chloe carrying on a conversation and took the opportunity to quietly go into the bedroom.

Once inside she grabbed her overnight bag and, after a glance over her shoulder for caution, opened the inner pocket and extracted the small bottle. She gave it a few shakes, her heart pounding at the sad little rattle that came from within and tipped it into her palm.

She looked at the three pills in her hand.

"Shit," she whispered and looked in the bottle to double check.

Nothing.

Dropping the pills back inside and closing the lid once more, she pressed the bottle against her temple and tried to think. These were the last of them. She'd been trying to ration what she had on her, but obviously that couldn't make them last forever.

She'd already gone back to hotel room the day before, searching for the stash she knew was there, but there was nothing to be found. It was probably the first thing Angela had done after she drove off that night.

Beca knew what she was doing. She wanted Beca to come crawling back to her and this was her way of doing it. Screw that.

She wasn't helpless.

Taking out her phone she sent a quick text; asking Ricki, a reliable source, if they could meet up. She chewed on her thumb as she stared at the screen waiting for a reply. Several minutes passed with nothing, which was unusual. Normally she just left it all up to Angela, but on occasion when she'd reached out herself, it was never more than a couple minutes for a response. She still hadn't received anything by the time Chloe ended her call and found her in the room. Looking up quickly, she attempted to sound casual.

"Hey. Was that anything important?"

"No, a friend of mine," she told her as she came and wrapped her arms around Beca's waist, "She's in town from New York and was asking if I wanted to meet up with her and some of the girls."

"Oh?" Beca thought out loud, wondering if Chloe going out might give her a chance to get out herself to get what she needed, "You gonna go?"

"And miss out on all this?" she teased, grasping Beca's rear for emphasis, "No thanks. I'll catch them next time. Besides, Pilgrim's is always packed, we'd spend more time drinking and dancing than actually catching up."

The club name sparked a part of Beca's brain. She knew it was a place Ricki often frequented for exchanges. Before she could talk herself out of it, Beca was speaking.

"Well, we could go together," she suggested.

Chloe stepped back from her, holding Beca at arm's length.

"You want to go?" she asked for clarification, "That place is always swarming with people; not to mention the paparazzi guarding the entrance like crazy."

"Well…hasn't Aubrey been saying we should be seen out more?"

"Yeah and you hate when she does."

"True, but I definitely don't hate you," she countered, "Seriously, they're your friends and who knows when you guys will all be free at the same time again? You should be able to hang out with them. Plus, isn't that an important step for this? Meeting your friends so they can talk about how bad I am for you?"

"First of all, my friends would love you," Chloe said without a doubt, "Second…if you're sure you're sure, I'd love to go out with you tonight. You can finally show me your dance moves."

Beca knew it was a huge risk; planning to sneak away from Chloe and her friends in search of deal. But the image of those three lonely pills shouted at her that it was a necessary one. She lifted Chloe's hand and twirled her around once.

"Then we're going dancing."

After they both got ready, Chloe decidedly more so than Beca, they headed over to the club. They arrived, parking down the street and walking the rest of the way, Beca could tell from a long way off that Chloe was right. The sidewalk in front of the entrance was surrounded by those bastards and their cameras. Their appearance seemed to light a fire under them and the couple found themselves swarmed before they even got there.

Beca did her best to ignore them as she moved through; Chloe's hand firmly in hers, and ended up lowering her head and shoving a path through until they finally reached the bouncer who forced them all back.

"You good?" Chloe asked as soon as they were inside; speaking over the music.

Beca nodded and cleared her throat, "Let's find your friends."

"She said they were in a booth in the back."

Maneuvering through the bodies of dancers and drunks, Beca kept her eyes open for a sign of Ricki somewhere. They reached the large circular booth occupied by three young women.

"Hey guys!" Chloe said, her excitement clear that she had wanted to come see them despite what she said at the apartment.

Everyone greeted her just as enthusiastically and Chloe smiled brighter and squeezed Beca's hand.

"Beca, this is Cynthia Rose, Emily, and Amy," she introduced each one individually, "Everyone this is Beca."

"Oh, we know who she is," the one Chloe called Amy spoke with a noticeable accent.

Beca nodded awkwardly, that one sentence making her all too aware that her reputation was known to her girlfriend's friends. They joined the table, Beca's arm habitually sliding around Chloe's back as they sat.

The group instantly jumped right into conversation and Beca did her best to be present while continuously being on the lookout. After some time, how much she wasn't sure, Beca felt her focus being pulled back when Chloe squeezed her thigh. She looked at Chloe first and then around the table, realizing everyone was looking at her. She glanced back to Chloe for an explanation.

"Cynthia Rose wants to know all our juicy details," she said with a chuckle.

"Hell no, not all of 'em," the woman argued through her laugh, "There's some stuff I do not want to picture. I was only asking how it started. What about our girl here caught your eye first?"

"Oh, I mean, it wasn't one thing really. Just," she glanced at Chloe and linked her free hand with hers on the tabletop, "she saw me, I guess is the best way to explain it. Plus, she's pretty damn stubborn."

Chloe laughed and leaned her head onto Beca's shoulder. Amy made an exaggerated gagging sound, getting their attention off each other.

"Forget that fluffy junk, no offense Junk," she said aside to Emily who had the look of a lost puppy for a moment before Amy continued, "I _do_ want the real details. Come on, give me the nitty gritty. For instance, Beca, how far down do your tattoos go? And Chloe have you licked them all?"

"Amy!" Emily gasped.

Beca turned her head away when she felt her cheeks burn. Chloe pressed a kiss to the side of her head, but Beca barely registered it when she caught sight of someone at the bar.

"I think that's my cue to get us some drinks," she excused, "I'll be right back."

"Ok. Nothing too hard yet, I was promised some dancing."

"Trust me, alcohol would only improve my skills."

Chloe laughed and watched her move through the crowd towards the bar before turning back to her friends for a verdict.

"So…?"

"She's cool," Emily said, "And she's super into you."

Chloe was happy to hear the positive review from her younger friend. She noticed that Cynthia Rose was hesitating to speak though.

"What do you think?" Chloe asked her directly.

"She just seems kind of distracted. Looking around a lot like she's paranoid or something."

"Yeah, she can be pretty on edge in public sometimes. There are always people watching her and taking pictures. I mean, you guys know what it's like for me, it's way worse for Beca. It gets to her sometimes."

A sharp bark of laughter came from Amy, "Tell me about it, didn't she break a guy's hand last year?"

"Not on purpose!" Chloe defended immediately, "She pushed him away from her and he fell over the curb. It was an accident."

"An expensive accident," Amy continued, "How much did he sue for?"

Chloe's mouth open and closed a few times before shaking her head quickly, "That's not what we're talking about. Don't be like that."

Amy opened her mouth to respond but saw the look Cynthia Rose was giving her and shut it, choosing instead to just nod and then apologize, "Sorry, Chloe. You're right. Let's talk about the sex."

* * *

X

* * *

Beca made it to the bar and took a breath before sliding in beside the tall woman. Deciding to play casual first, she signaled for the bartender and put in for her and Chloe's drinks. As soon as she spoke the woman turned her way, revealing the blue streak in her dark hair.

"Well, Well, Mitchell," she spoke smoothly, "It's been a minute."

"Hey Des," she nodded, "How you been?"

"Oh, you know, this shiny town still has plenty of shadows to keep me busy."

"Right," she gave a small smile and cleared her throat again, "So, uh, have you seen Ricki around? I've been trying to get in touch…you know."

Desiree let out a loud laugh, "Oh I know why you'd be looking for her, Mitchell," she said with a glint in her eye, "Also know you ain't finding her anywhere here. Not for a long while."

"What? Why?"

"You need to keep up with your local news, superstar," when Beca remained confused, she leaned in and went on, "Ricki got pinched in a raid two nights ago."

"She what?!" Beca asked in shock.

"Oh yeah, lucky for people like you she's a loyal one. Flushed her phone as soon as they showed up. Keeping your name out of the papers," she scoffed, "For that anyway."

"Shit," Beca muttered as the drinks were placed on the bar top in front of her, then said it harsher, "Shit!"

"No, you wanna hear the real shit?" she asked, "Day before it happened, she got a visitor. Told her not to sell to you no matter what. Ricki told her off, next day like magic, cops bust down her door."

Beca felt her heart start to pound. It couldn't be. But it had to be. No one else would have a reason to. Angela was cutting her off from all sides.

"Fuck, Des, I didn't know," she gripped a fistful of her own hair for a moment and stared at the drinks for a second, before looking up and turning to sharply to Desiree, "Listen, do you have anything on you?"

She only got a laugh in response.

"You don't get it," she started with a laugh, "Words out in the crowd. No one's giving your name, but sure as hell ain't anyone coming near your business. ShortStuff, you're officially blacked out."

"What?! No, Des, Des, come on. You know me, ok? You know me. I'll give you double for it, come on. Triple even. No one has to know," she could hear how pathetic she sounded as she basically begged the woman, "Please help me out. Please. Nobody will know."

"Aw, precious. I like you, I really do," she actually sounded genuine, "But not enough to take that risk. I'm looking out for me and mine. I'm sorry."

"Des, don't- "she tried again but the woman was already walking away and Beca slammed her fist against the bar, "Damn it!"

The shock of pain traveled up her arm and she shook out her hand before grabbing both drinks and throwing them back one after the other. She let out a cough after swallowing and signaled for two more from the bartender. She leaned her elbows on the bar and held her head in her hands, pulling at her hair to excise the mess of emotions running through her.

Calm down.

She had to calm down.

By the time the drinks came she'd nearly convinced herself it would be ok.

It would be fine.

She was fine.

"Fuck," she said one last time and then took some deep breaths and smoothed down her hair to look presentable again. Confident enough that she looked calm, Beca grabbed the glasses and went back to the booth.

"There you are," Chloe said happily, "Thought you'd taken off on me."

"Sorry, bar was busy."

Chloe took the drinks from her and put them on the table, "Well, now you have to give me that dance as penance."

Beca grabbed one of the glasses and drank it in one burning swallow, before grabbing Chloe's hand, "Lead the way."

They found a spot on the dance floor and stood close to each other. Before anything else though, Chloe moved some hair behind Beca's cheek and looked in her eyes.

"Are you all right?"

"Of course," she answered easily, "Why?"

"No reason I guess," Chloe said, trying to ease the sudden feeling tickling at her brain when she looked at Beca, "Just making sure nothing's wrong."

Beca pulled her close so their hips were flush against each other and raised an eyebrow for good measure.

"What could be wrong?"

X

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X

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X

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X

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X


End file.
